Kingdom RWBY
by Scarlet Rosette
Summary: Sora had lived a normal and boring life until the Grimm arrived and took everything away. Armed with a strange scythe weapon and a pair of...unique individuals, Sora must travel to other worlds in search of his missing friends and uncover the the truth surrounding the disappearances of a legendary group of heroes.
1. Dive to the Soul

**Hellooooo, everybody! Before I begin, I would like to say a few things. First off, this is my first story ever, so while criticism is welcomed (and helpful in most cases), I would greatly appreciate it if you keep the flaming to a minimum.**

 **Secondly, I know you're probably expecting the predictable cliché for these types of stories: Ruby and/or her teammates are Keyblade wielders and are taking Sora's role. Well, that's not happening here. Sora is still the main character and he still travels to other worlds, but the Keyblade and its history is not the general focus of the story. The main focus will be centered on the concept of souls and certain subjects from the RWBY mythos that I do not wish to reveal at this time. I know most people will be turned off because Sora won't be using the Keyblade, but I promise the alternative will be just as interesting (hopefully).**

 **Thirdly, I know the general premise of the story is similar to the original script, but I do plan on making many changes to the plot to suit my needs and hopefully motivate you enough to continue reading. So before you hit the back button after reading this, I do ask that you at least give it a chance before you go.**

 **Okay, now that I said my spiel, on with the show!**

* * *

 **Prologue: Dive to the Soul**

For so long he's thought about it: the other worlds. Do they truly exist? He knew that he and his friends always played with the idea of traveling beyond the horizon, searching for new lands and new people, if only for the reason of leaving behind the world they already knew, the world that no longer held interest. Honestly, while the thought of new discoveries made him feel excited, it also scared him. They didn't know what awaited them beyond the shores of their home, or if they could even survive it. So many questions, so little answers.

His eyes slowly fluttered open, slowly taking in everything around him. Everything was pitch black; it felt like he was falling into deep water. A part of his mind told him that he should be scared, but he didn't feel like he was drowning. He could still breathe, even though that should have been impossible. It was all so confusing.

"I've been having these weird thoughts lately," said the boy, his lips barely moving. "Like is any of this for real or not?"

As he fell deeper and deeper into the abyss, away from the light of the surface, he closed his eyes and allowed the coolness of the 'water' to wash over him.

And then he opened his eyes again.

He wasn't underneath the water any more, but rather on the shoreline of a beautiful tropical island surrounded by a vast sea of clear blue water, loose sand brushing up against his shoes. Leaning forward, he stared at his reflection in the lapping water. He was young, probably only starting his teenage years, with chestnut brown hair that somehow spiked everywhere and had the power to defy gravity. A red jumpsuit, white coat and gloves, and large yellow shoes made up his attire, but the piece that drew him the most was the silver necklace around his neck. He knew it was given to him a long time ago by someone, but he couldn't remember their face. The necklace was silver and etched into the shape of a flower – like a rose.

He saw something out of the corner of his eye standing in the middle of the ocean. He looked up, temporarily blinded by the sunlight, and stared at the back of a boy he knew. His silver hair glistened in the sun, giving it an unnatural sheen. His blues jeans and yellow/black sleeveless shirt were sprayed by the salty water, but he did not seem that concerned. There was something around his wrists – bracelets by the look of them – but he did not remember the boy ever having such a thing before.

The boy just stared at the water, almost with a sense of longing, before a wave began to rise off into the distance, growing large as it approached. The silver-haired teen turned nonchalantly toward him and held out his hand for him. Gasping, he rushed out into the ocean without a second thought. He was so close, he could almost touch the silver-haired boy's fingers, but the wave crashed down on top of them before he could reach. He was thrown back underneath the water, but the silver-haired boy floated calmly, still offering his hand to him. He tried ever so desperately to reach out to him, but the waves were too strong and they were pushed farther away until they could no longer see one another.

He breached the surface not long after, gasping for air but not feeling like he had lost any breath. He looked out at the horizon and noticed that the sun was starting to set. How long had he been down there?

He turned his head back to the island and noticed someone else was waiting at the shore; his chest felt light and warm. A girl was waving to him, trying to call his attention. She was very pretty from her short red hair to her dazzling white smile. Her clothing was simple: white tank top, short purple skirt, and shoes. But glistening just above her breast was a small white pendant reflecting the ray of the falling sun. His memory returned to him again. She had that necklace for as long as either of them could remember; she never took it off for any reason, like a charm.

He waved to her and sloshed his way back to the sandy shoes while she stood by and giggled; that feeling of warmth returned in his chest. Their laughter was short lived when the girl's eyes suddenly became focused on the sky. Curious, he followed her gaze towards the red-purplish backdrop. There were a few shooting stars, nothing abnormal, but then he noticed something large falling towards them. As the object got closer, he was stunned when he realized the falling object was…himself.

He inadvertently took a step back and suddenly found himself falling backwards into nothingness; it was as if the ground had disappeared beneath his feet. He reached out a hand to the girl above him, but the sky suddenly rippled and she was nowhere to be seen. And then, without warning, he was plunged headfirst back into the dark waters.

He drifted and drifted with no end in sight until his feet touched something solid. He looked around, but did not see anything; everything was shrouded it complete darkness. He took a step forward and suddenly and explosion of red erupted from where he touched. Piece of the darkness ripped away and transformed into a beautiful storm of red petals, all flying towards the darkness above. When the storm had passed, he realized that there was now light and beneath his feet was a small platform that looked to be made from delicate glass; he was almost afraid to touch it.

An image was formed from the glass on the platform. Dozens of smaller circles surrounded the largest circle in the center, each one baring a unique emblem: a burning heart. In the central circle was the image of a girl – no, a woman – whose hair was wild and unruly, but glistened with a golden shine that rival the sun. She was very beautiful – even more beautiful than his friend – but those burning red eyes scared him; it made her beautiful face seem evil. There was a shadow hovering over the woman's shoulder, embracing from behind with one pale arm wrapping around her waist, another pair of blaring red eyes staring at her with desire and hunger.

" _You've finally awakened…_ " said a soft, almost ethereal voice.

"What the?" the boy sputtered, snapping his head left and right. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

" _It's been so long, Sora, but there is still so much to do,_ " said the ghostly voice.

"How do you know who I am?" asked Sora apprehensively. "What's going on?"

" _There is still time,_ " said the ghostly voice. " _Don't be afraid. The door is still shut. It's time for you to step forward. Can you do it?_ "

"Do what?" asked Sora.

But the voice didn't answer. Instead, a beam of light radiated from the darkness, illuminating the spot where the blonde woman and the shadow met. Sora was very much confused, but there didn't seem to be any point in stalling; it wasn't like he had anywhere else to go. So he stepped forward until he was standing directly under the spotlight. Once he did, four pedestals emerged from the floor in each cardinal direction. Four lights rippled above the platforms and left behind different items. The one directly in front of Sora was a pair of metal gloves, the one on his left was a katana, the one on his right was a scythe like the kind they used for farming the fields, and the one behind him was that thin sword they used in fencing at school – a rappy ear, he thought they called it.

" _Power sleeps within you,_ " aid the ghostly voice. " _If you give it form, it will give you strength. Choose well._ "

"Wait, so am I supposed to choose one of these things?" Sora asked the sky, and naturally he was given no response. "Of course you don't answer me. All right, let's start with this one."

The first one he approached was the metal gloves. They didn't look like anything special – just some burlap with metal stitched on top of it. He took the gloves off the pedestal and then the voice returned.

" _The path of the fighter. Unrivaled strength. A weapon of uncontrollable destruction. Is this the path you choose?_ "

Sora hesitated. Having unrivalled strength would be nice – he could finally beat his best friend in a fight – but at what cost? Uncontrollable destruction? The very thought made Sora's stomach churn. So he chose to replace the gloves on the pedestal and stepped away, walking across the platform until he was in front of the rappy ear or whatever it was called. It hardly looked like a weapon that would be useful in a fight, but he also doubted it would cause much damage as well. He grasped the foil by the handle and looked it over.

" _The path of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A power to protect all. Is this the path you choose?_ "

This one sounded much better than the last; Sora didn't hesitate to say "Yes" before the foil evaporated in his hand.

" _Your path is set,_ " the voice reaffirmed. " _Now, what will you give up in exchange?_ "

"I have to give up something, too?" said Sora, and, predictably, the voice went quiet. "If this is the dream, it's the weirdest one I ever had."

His first thought was to give up on the gloves, but curiosity drove him to check the remaining two before making a selection – what he gave up would obviously affect him somehow. He gravitated towards the farming scythe since he seemed like the least useful when it came to a fight. He grabbed the tool by it wooden handle when the voice returned:

" _The path of the adventurer. Power the eye cannot see. A tool of wonder and ruin. You give up this power?_ "

Once again, Sora hesitated. Power the eye cannot see? Did that mean being able to see things that no one else could? Or did it have a completely different meaning. Sora didn't know, but he chose to wait until he heard the final path before he made his selection. He put the scythe back on its pedestal and walked across towards the katana. It was easily the coolest weapon of the four, but Sora had a feeling it had some hidden meaning behind it. Sora grabbed the katana and the voice said:

" _The path of the shadow. Unshakable resolve. A blade of isolation. You give up this power._ "

The katana was cool and unshakable resolve sounded great, but a blade of isolation? Did that mean he would be alone? Sora couldn't bear the thought of never being able to see his friends. That is what made it easy for him to say "Yes" to the sky voice and watched the katana dissolve like the foil.

" _You have chosen the power of the guardian. You've given up the power of the shadow. Is this the form you choose?"_

"Yeah, I guess so," said Sora hesitantly. "But what does any of this have to do – "

Before Sora could finish his question, the pedestals suddenly collapsed into the floor, making loud crashing sounds. As he looked around, he realized that the floor was shattering around him. Panicking and left with nowhere to run, Sora fell through into the endless abyss of darkness below. He didn't know how long he fell or why he couldn't scream when he wanted to, but before he realized it, there was another light in the sea of darkness; he was approaching another platform.

As he slowly descended onto the new territory, he took the chance to get a good look of the picture presented in the glass. The emblems around the central circle were now blackish-purple flame, but it also resembled a billowing flower. The central picture was of three people, or more specifically, three different versions of the same person. In the middle was a child who was glaring up in spite, the version on her left was a teenager with an unreadable expression staring off into the distance, and the third was a grown woman with her back turned to the others, leaving her face unseen. The few things they all had in common was the wavy black hair, piercing yellow eyes, and the pair of cat ears resting on top of their heads.

Sora landed safely on his feet and the foil appeared in his hands in a flash of light.

" _You gained the power to fight,_ " said the ghostly voice. " _Use this power to protect yourself and others._ "

"Protect them?" Sora repeated. "Protect them from what?"

" _There will be times you have to fight,_ " said the ghostly voice. " _Keep your light burning strong._ "

As the voice was speaking to him, Sora leaned forward when noticing something unusual about the floor. He was staring at a shadow that, at first, he thought was part of the girl's black hair until it started moving. The shadow raised itself up off the ground and took form. The animal looked close to resembling a small dog, but the sharp, flesh-ripping fangs and the masks made from red-and-white material.

The dog monster leered up at Sora through its mask and growled, lunging at the spiky-haired boy. Reacting purely on instinct, Sora stabbed his foil ahead and punctured the mini monster through the forehead. The dog monster collapsed on the ground and evaporated into a black mist.

"What…was that?" asked Sora, looking stunned.

" _Behind you!_ " the ghostly voice warned.

Sora spun around quickly and just in time to raise his weapon in a defense position as another dog monster lunged at him. He pushed the animal away and did a quick check of how many monsters he was suddenly up against. There were at least four of them, but none of them seemed all that tough, especially compared to the people he had been fighting back at home. This would be easy.

The first dog monster scrambled back onto its large-nailed paws and growled, charging at the spiky-haired meal. Sora sidestepped the animal, and then spun around to make a quick jab at the back of the beast's neck; the monster dissolved in an instant. The second dog monster jumped into the air with its teeth presented while a third one was rushing him from the ground, aiming for his ankles. Sora did a light jump off the ground to avoid the one beneath him and stabbed the other dog beast inside its open mouth, destroying it. When he touched ground, he spun around on his heel and stabbed the third dog creature through the head to kill it. Now that just left one. Sora turned on the tiny dog monster as it stared up at him with its creepy death mask. It had just watched him effortlessly destroy its friends; there was no way it was dumb enough to attempt an attack on its own. And he was right, in some ways.

The dog monster didn't attack Sora, but instead flattened itself into the floor until it transformed into a puddle of darkness. And for that one moment, Sora thought he had won the fight, but then he realized what the monster had planned. The darkness was spreading; it was covering up the entire platform; and Sora was in the middle of it. The spiky-haired warrior was quickly pulled in. He struggled to get out of the black pool, but it was like trying to break free from quicksand. And after several seconds of hopeless struggling, Sora was once again pulled under into the depths of the abyss.

Sora's eyes shot open and her shot up, gasping for breath that he didn't know he was holding.

He did a quick look around, almost scared that he would start seeing more of those dog creatures. Instead, he suddenly found himself on another platform. He stood up and stared down at the new image presented to him, almost shaking at what he saw. The emblems were replaced with white snowflakes and in the center was a young, almost-fragile woman with hair as white as snow with one long strand tied up in a sideways ponytail. She was very beautiful in a delicate sort of way, but the jagged scar running down her left eye marred that beauty. Her eyes were closed and her hands were folded in a prayer as dozens of those…monsters surrounded her, their clawed hands reaching around to pull her closer toward them; they all looked hungry.

It took a moment before Sora realized he wasn't alone. Much like the pedestals in the first station, there were four people standing in each of the cardinal directions, all of them with blank expressions and impassive gazes centered on him. To his front was a beautiful woman with burning-red eyes dressed in red and a sword at her side; she looked like an exact copy of the woman on the first platform. To her left was a tall and scary-looking man with reddish-brown hair dressed in a well-made tuxedo suit, wearing a mask over his eyes similar to the monsters Sora just saw. Directly behind Sora was a woman that looked like she could be an older version of the girl in the glass, standing tall and poised in regal attire with her white hair tide into a bun and draped over her left eye. The woman on Sora's right was the biggest mystery: he couldn't see anything underneath her lengthy white cloak other than a few sparse red hairs that peeked through the hood.

"Um…excuse me," Sora said timidly when none of them said anything. "Um…are you guys all right? Do you know where we are? Hey…hey, can you say anything."

" _Not just yet, Sora,_ " said the ghostly voice. " _The door has not been opened. First, tell me more about yourself._

Asking to know more about him at this point seem strange, Sora thought, because it already sounds like it knew enough. Regardless, Sora approached the first person in the queue of people, which was the black-haired in red.

"Uh…hello?" said Sora slowly.

"What's most important to you?" asked the woman.

"What's most important to me?" Sora repeated, rubbing his chin in thought. "Well…I guess my friends would be very important."

"Is friendship such a big deal?" said the woman.

With that final quip, the woman vanished. Sora blinked for a moment, wondering what that was supposed to mean, but decided it was pointless to try and make any sense of anything from here. He walked over and approached the only man of the group; he looked very dangerous up close.

"What would you want to change?" asked the man.

"Change…change…," Sora muttered. "I guess I would want to change the world?"

"Do you think changing the world will make a difference?" said the man.

And then he too vanished. This was crossing weird and heading straight into creepy territory. Sora approached the stern looking woman next, suddenly feeling like he was being called into the principal's office by the way she looked at him.

"What do you want out of life?" asked the woman.

"I guess…to be stronger," Sora answered with a hint of hesitation.

"To be strong, huh?" remarked the woman before she vanished.

That just left the one woman in the white cloak. It was strange, Sora thought, as he approached her. He had never seen this person before, but there was a hint a familiarity about her that Sora couldn't shake. He still couldn't see who the person was underneath the hood because she was making an effort to hide herself. Sora couldn't tell if she was shy or he just wasn't meant to see her.

"What are you afraid of?" asked the hooded woman.

"I guess being indecisive would be a real problem," said Sora, shrugging; there wasn't a whole lot he was afraid of…except those black creatures.

"Being indecisive? Is it really that scary?" said the woman.

And like the others before her, the hooded woman vanished out of existence, leaving Sora alone on the platform only able to stare down at the frail woman about to be devoured by the monsters. And then the voice returned to him.

" _You want friendship. You want to change the world. You want to be strong. You are afraid of being indecisive. Your adventure begins at midday. Keep a steady path and you'll come through._ "

"That doesn't sound too bad," said Sora pleasantly.

" _The day you will open the door is both very far and very near,_ " said the ghostly voice.

Just then, a light appeared on the opposite side of the platform and glided its way through the darkness beyond. As the light passed over, small steps made from the same glass as the pictures formed a curving staircase. And off in the distance, Sora could faintly make out a fourth platform waiting for him. The voice said nothing to him in response to this, though he supposed that the objective was too obvious for Sora not to understand. He dashed up the staircase in record time, already knowing that the glass was disappearing behind him without having to look back.

Sora jumped onto the platform as the final piece of glass disappeared underneath him and was presented with a new picture for him to observe. This picture was very different from the first three. Whereas the others showed scenes of despair or remorse, the image seemed almost…peaceful. The emblems were shapes like the pendent on Sora's necklace except in red and a whirlwind of rose petals was painted on. In the center was a young girl around his age with short, reddish-black hair with a large red cape wrapped around her. She was leaning onto one side of the platform with her eyes closed, giving her the impression that she was sleeping.

The light was shining very bright from where he stood it was almost blinding. But he knew he had to get closer; the voice was definitely leading him towards something.

" _The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes_ ," said the ghostly voice.

A thrill of panic suddenly rose up when the voice said that; did it just lead him into a trap or something?

Sora spun around on his heel and looked down at his shadow, now realizing that the light was stretching it halfway across the platform. And then the shadow began to move of its own accord, rising slowly from the floor as it began to change shape. Sora started to back away slowly, never taking his eyes off the monstrosity.

" _Don't be afraid,_ " said the ghostly voice.

Easy for him to say, Sora thought. He wasn't the one facing down a behemoth of a monster. The creature became fuller and thinner with every second that passed; flesh altered into feathers, arms sprouted wings beneath them, and a large tip was growing from where it's face shoulder have been, forming into a beak. But like all the monsters that came before it, the shadow would develop the familiar white-and-red death mask over where its eyes should have been.

This was too much for him; he wanted to escape, but there was no way off the platform without falling into the endless darkness. He doubted it would have mattered much since the monster had finished its transformation and a twenty-foot bird-like beast now screeched in his ears.

" _Don't forget…_ ," the ghostly voice spoke as it faded away.

"Am i…supposed to fight that thing?" said Sora nervously, looking down at his weapon, which was looking very pathetic right now. "It's okay…it's okay…this is just a dream. It's not like it can hurt me, right?"

The bird monster screeched again and swiped its feathery wing across the platform, slapping the spiky-haired boy across the face. Sora was thrown clean across the area, coming very close to falling over the edge. As he sat up, he felt something warm and wet sliding down his cheek. He wiped it away with his hand and stared; his fingers were colored in something red – his blood. The bird had hurt him, he was bleeding. And if he can bleed, he can die.

Panic rose in Sora's chest once more as the bird monster took another swing at him, this time using its three claws to cut across the glass, leaving massive scratch marks on the surface. Sora tucked and rolled forward to barely escape the monster's reach before pushing back up on his feet and stabbing the bird with his weapon that he still didn't know the name of. The pointed tip punctured the monster's feathers, but the beast itself gave no indication that it felt anything. The monstrous bird flapped its wing and swatted Sora away; his piercing weapon was thrown out into the darkness where he could not see.

"No!" Sora cried with his hand outstretched, hoping in vein that his weapon would return.

The bird monster reared its head again with an echoing shriek and it stretched both wings as far as they could go. The bird beast then brought its wings together and created a powerful gust of wind. Sora flattened himself against the surface of the platform, but there was nothing to hold on to, nothing to give him a grip. He was moving closer and closer to the edge. The bird monster flapped its massive wings once more and the spiky-haired boy was finally thrown off by the pressure of the gale. Sora tried to scream – every fiber in his body told him it was the proper response – but nothing would escape his open lips. It was as if the fear had robbed him of his voice.

So there he was, falling into what seemed to be an endless pit of black with no possible end in sight. It seemed like falling would have been the worst part of the whole experience, but he could not have been more wrong. The bird monster had not wanted to give up its prey so easily and bounded over the edge of the platform, diving after him into the pit of darkness. Sora flailed his arms and legs as if it would make any difference, but it didn't. The bird beast was getting closer and closer while there seemed to be nothing around to save him. It was in that moment that it finally dawned on him: this was how he was going to die.

" _Don't be afraid…_ "

The bird monster was on top of it; he could see the yellow in its eyes.

" _You hold the mightiest weapon of all…_ "

The bird opened its beak, hover on either side of Sora's chest.

" _So don't forget:_ "

The bird monster closed its beak; Sora could feel the pressure weighting on him as his vision went black.

" _You are the one who will open the door._ "

And then he died.

* * *

 **Okay, so that wraps up the Dive to the Heart sequence. Overall, I'd like to think I gave it my best shot, but I still think there might have been a lot to improve on. You might have noticed that there were some parts of the game that I might have skipped; that was because it didn't seem relevant to the story. I'm sure people who are reading this closely was able to pick up the symbolism in this chapter; they are going to be very important in the future. And I'm sure many of you are going to be saying "if there is a door, then it must have a Key, which is why having a Keyblade would make more sense". Trust me; I already worked that part out, mostly. It will make more sense down the road.**

 **Anyway, next chapter is the Destiny Islands and a sneak peek at (confidential) and (confidential) at the (confidential), which will set up the rest of the story. Hopefully some of you people will still be around to see them. Until then, please read and review.**


	2. Destined Beginnings, Part 1

**Last chapter turned out much better than I would have expected – I honestly thought no one would care for this type of story. Even though it's not as much as most people would like, I'm just happy that people took the time to actually give this series a chance. So before I begin, I want to thank each and every person for your support and hope that you will continue to support me in the future. And remember, I'm still welcome to some criticism as long as it's not straight out flaming. Anything you say (or write) can only help me improve.**

 **So, without further ado, the first world: Destiny Islands**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Destined Beginnings, Part 1**

First, there was darkness – everything around him was covered in black. And then he heard it: the sounds of the crashing waves and the chirping of the seagulls. He knew these sounds; he heard them every day at home.

Sora's eyes fluttered open slowly, wincing as the brightness that overtook his vision. Once his sight adjusted, he realized her was staring up at the clear blue skies, watching birds pass over the sparse cloud; small harmless birds, thankfully. It took him a moment to realize that he was lying down in the warm, grainy sand before he slowly sat up. Doing a quick look around, he was relieved to see that he was not trapped in that strange dark world with those weird platforms and the ghostly voice. He was on the island he had spent many years playing as a child. He was safe.

And, given that he was safe, he didn't see any reason why he shouldn't take a few more minutes to relax, especially after a weird dream like that. So, with a loud yawn, Sora fell back into his old position in the sand with his hands behind his head. His relaxation, however, was short lived when he saw the grinning face of one of his oldest friends.

"Whoa!" Sora screamed, shooting up. The girl standing over him giggled. "Give me a break, Kairi."

"Sora, you lazy bum," Kairi chastised him playfully. "I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here."

"No! This huge, black bird THING swallowed me up!" sputtered Sora. "I couldn't breathe! I couldn't – OW!"

Kairi promptly slapped him over the head.

"Are you still dreaming?" said Kairi.

"It wasn't a dream!" said Sora firmly. Though, after a few seconds of thinking, his conviction slowly waned. "Or was it? I don't know…. What was that place? Who were those…people…those girls in the glass…they looked so familiar. It's so bizarre…."

"Yeah, sure," said Kairi, rolling her eyes while laughing.

Figures Kairi wouldn't believe him; even _he_ didn't believe him. But that place…it reminded him of something. And even though he probably asked over a hundred times already, it couldn't hurt to ask again, right?

"Say, Kairi," said Sora. "What was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?"

"I told you before," said Kairi lightly, "I don't remember."

"Nothing at all?" asked Sora curiously.

"Well…maybe…," said Kairi thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "Sometimes – very rarely – I think I remember something…or someone…. Sometimes, when I'm sleeping, I see a girl with white hair talking to me. I don't know what she says or who she is, but she feels familiar. I don't know if that's a memory or just something I made up in my head."

"You ever wanna go back there?" asked Sora. "Maybe to see that person again?"

"Hmm…well, I'm happy here," said Kairi.

"Really…" said Sora, sounding disappointed.

"But you know…," said Kairi thoughtfully, "I wouldn't mind going to see it."

"I'd like to see it too," said Sora eagerly. "Along with any other worlds out there! I want to see 'em all!"

"So what are we waiting for?" said Kairi, smiling.

"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?"

Sora and Kairi both turned as the third member of their little party decided to join them, a think log underneath his arm.

"So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft," said Riku with a confident smirk. He threw the log on top of Sora, who had not been expecting it and took the wood to the face, then walked up to Kairi. "And you're just as lazy as he is!"

"So you noticed," said Kairi with a huge grin, scratching the back of her head. "Okay, we'll finish it together! I'll race you!"

"Huh?" said Sora.

"What, are you kidding me?" Riku complained.

"Ready…GO!" Kairi shouted.

At first, Sora didn't want to get up and start racing for no reason – he _just_ woke up from a weird, and possibly deadly, dream, after all. But once glance at Riku and his competitive spirit was burning like a bonfire. In the split-second of time they looked at one another, Sora and Riku shot up and started rushing down the shoreline at full speed, laughing all the way with Kairi in the back just trying to keep up.

What neither of them noticed was that, hidden beneath the shadows of the island's tallest trees, a person in a black coat was watching them.

* * *

 ***~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
***DESTINY ISLANDS***  
**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~****

* * *

After finishing their little race across the beach – Riku won, again – the silver-haired boy decided he would call it quits for the day, seeing as how he had been the one that built most of it. He said that there were only a few small things left to do and that they could handle it themselves. So, naturally, Sora and Kairi did a little team meeting near the door to the backside of the island. And by 'team', they meant he would do the work while Kairi 'supervised'.

"We're almost done with the raft," said Kairi. "So, can you grab the rest of the supplies? Sora, are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, I heard you," said Sora.

"Okay, here's what you need to find," said Kairi, pulling out a list she already made. "Two more logs for the body, one cloth for the sail, and one rope to tie the logs together. Once you have everything, we should be able to finish the raft by today."

"So where am I supposed to find these things," asked Sora, scratching his head.

"I think there was an old cloth hanging on the wall of the treehouse," said Kairi. "As for the other stuff, you might want to ask the others if they've seen them. I'm sure you'll find them quickly. I'm counting on you, Sora!"

And there it was again; that warm, fluttery feeling in his chest. Kairi was counting on him, so there was no way he was going to disappoint her.

Finding the first log was not as hard as he would have thought it would be – it was just down the shore from where they were talking; how did they miss that during the race? He picked up the log, though it strangely disappeared into his pocket like some kind of video game hammer space. Sora decided not to think too much of the subject; as long as he didn't have to carry it himself, he was just fine.

But the log wasn't the only thing he found on the shore. Tidus, one of the other kids that liked to play on the island, was just down a ways swinging his red metal pole around fighting an invisible opponent. No doubt he was training for his next match against Riku. The silver-haired boy had a reputation of being the strongest person on the islands, even stronger than most of the adults. All the other kids tried fighting him from time-to-time, sometimes even ganging up in groups, but Riku would always emerge victorious. And Tidus, being the ever competitive one, would train until he dropped if anyone let him just for the chance to say he went toe-to-toe with the toughest guy around.

Noticing the spiky-haired kid not too far, Tidus stopped his training and waved him over.

"Hey, Sora, feeling lucky today?" asked Tidus, looking very eager. "I've been itching to try out some new moves to use against Riku and I need a test dummy. Mind helping a guy out?"

"I don't know, Tidus, I'm kinda busy," said Sora uncertainly.

"Working on that raft again?" said Tidus. When Sora looked surprised, he laughed and said, "Man, everyone knows what you three've been up to. You guys don't exactly keep it a secret. Do you guys really think you'll be able to go to other worlds on a raft? I mean, don't you have to go through space or something?"

"We're…working out the details," said Sora hesitantly, suddenly realizing there _was_ a fatal flaw in their plan. "But I'm sure everything will work out in the end. Riku and I will make sure of that."

"Well, I know you've been getting stronger lately," said Tidus. "But you're still no match for Riku. One time, Wakka, Selphie, and I took on Riku three-to-one. He even gave us a handicap; he fought us with both hands tied behind his back. But even with that, he still kicked our butts – literally. Well, at least Kairi can always count on him to keep her safe."

"Hey, I can keep Kairi safe, too!" Sora snapped angrily.

"Sure you can," said Tidus.

"You know what, if you wanna fight, let's fight!" Sora challenged.

Tidus grinned smugly at Sora and that was when he knew that he had been played; Sora cursed himself for falling for such an easy trick. As Tidus walked across the sand until they were a good distance apart, red pole tapping his shoulder, Sora pulled out his weapon from the unexplainable hammer space in his pocket. While Tidus preferred his pole, Selphie with her jump rope, and Wakka with his ball, Sora's preferred weapon was a polished length of wood that reached the same height as him; Riku said the technical term was a bo staff. Sora never really understood why he favor it so much – most boys would choose a sword over a piece of wood – but it just felt right in his hands; like it was a part of him.

Giving his bo staff a test swing, Sora turned to Tidus and said, "Ready whenever you are."

"Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you!" said Tidus eagerly.

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Sora.

Tidus was the first to attack, jumping straight into the fight with both hands of her metal rod and swinging it down with all his strength. Sora could have blocked it, but when clashing wood against metal, the wood rarely won. So Sora held the staff horizontally above his head to meet with Tidus's weapon and then tilted it sideways so that the pole would slide down the length. When the pole hit the sand, Sora took a step back from Tidus, spinning his weapon around his body, and then bringing it around to smack his opponent in the back of his head. Tidus moaned loudly, rubbing the sore spot on his skull.

"Ow! That smarts!" Tidus whined as he stood straight. "You couldn't do that before. Have you been practicing?"

"Not really," said Sora, equally curious how he managed to pull that trick off. "I just thought about and then I just…did it."

"Yeah? Well, don't be proud of that lucky shot," said Tidus, prepping himself up again. "I'm just getting warmed up!"

Tidus came out swinging again, this time using one hand to make his swipes faster. Sora was able to block the strikes from the sides using his staff as a guard while managing to get a quick tap on Tidus's kneecap. The other boy hissed slightly from the sharp sting, but it didn't dissuade him from the fight. Tidus jabbed his metal pole at Sora's chest, which he deflected to the side, but the other boy quickly followed up with a sharp round kick to Sora's side. The sudden attack caught Sora by surprise as he stumbled sideways by a few feet, leaving him wide open from behind. By the time Sora managed to recover and turn around, Tidus had already brought his pole around for a sharp swing at Sora's shoulder. The spiky-haired teen was thrown down into the sand face first, wincing from the flare of pain that was building up in his shoulder.

"Ooh, that looked really bad," said Tidus with a hiss, cringing at his own action. "Maybe we should stop and get some ice for that."

"No, no, I'm fine, see?" said Sora, jumping back up to his feet with surprising quickness. If he wasn't so eager to prove himself, Sora would stop for a moment to ponder why the pain had suddenly stopped after a few seconds. "C'mon, let's keep this going."

"If you say so," said Tidus, shrugging. "But don't blame me if you end up in the hospital."

Sora ignored the comment and stepped forward before Tidus had a chance to react. He had made the mistake of letting Tidus have the first two moves; he wasn't going to repeat it a third time. Sora brought his staff down over his opponent's head, which was blocked by the metal rod, but them he twirled the weapon around so that the other end to uppercut Tidus on the chin. Tidus took a step backwards, rubbing the red spot developing, but quickly moved back on defensive when Sora took a swipe at him from the side. The wooden staff bounced off the metal pole and Sora, using the momentum that carried, twirled around and snapped his weapon on Tidus's opposite side. And while his opponent was momentarily stunned holding his side, Sora spun the staff around over his head and then brought it down on top of the boy's skull, planting him face first into the sand.

Tidus lifted his head up, spitting out the sand that got in his mouth. When he looked back at Sora, he found the end of a wooden staff hovering threatening a few inches from his face with Sora smirking above him.

"Okay, okay, I give," Tidus conceded. Sora laughed and offered his hand for Tidus to take. "Man, that was something else. Where'd you learn those moves?"

"I…honestly don't know," said Sora, scratching the back of his head with a confused look. "It's like they just…popped into my head. Kinda felt like I've done them before, which is weird because I've never been _that_ good."

"Yeah, whatever, man," said Tidus, grinning. "The way you are now, I bet you might actually stand a chance against Riku."

"I don't know about that," said Sora humbly. "Well, that was a good match, but I really gotta get back to finding stuff for the raft. Hey, do you know where I might find some rope and another log."

"The rope should be up on the deck near Wakka," said Tidus. "And I think I saw an extra log somewhere on the mini island across the bridge."

"Thanks for the help," said Sora appreciatively. "Talk to you later!"

"Don't lose to Riku next time, okay!" Tidus shouted as Sora took off. "It's embarrassing enough losing to you already!"

Ignoring the offhand comment, Sora thought it best to return to his job now that he knew here all the pieces were. His first stop would be the treehouse, where he knew the cloth was hanging on the wall. As he climbed the ladder to the highest platform, he recalled the many times he and his friends would spend the nights in the treehouse, having sleepovers and watching the stars. As far as they knew, the treehouse – and the rest of the wooden buildings on the island – had been built long before they were born, by someone girl that had left the islands ages ago. Sora wished he had met her; anyone who could come up with something like this would have to be cool.

Sora stepped inside the old house – man it was dusty – and found what he was looking for. The sheet was dirty and stained in many ways, but they weren't looking for perfect here. They needed a cloth to be the sail, so it was bound to be dirty anyway. Sora folded the cloth down and put it in his hammer space pocket.

"Two down, two to go," said Sora.

He turned to leave when –

"Hey, Sora!"

The spiky-haired boy did a jump, holding his chest to calm his beating heart. Man, Selphie had a way of sneaking up on people like nobody's business. It wasn't the first time he wondered if she might have been taking secret ninja lessons.

"Hey, Selphie, what's going on?" asked Sora.

"Oh, nothing really," said Selphie coyly. "Just taking a walk, getting some fresh air, thinking about the legend of the paopu fruit. No big deal."

"The legend of the paopu fruit," Sora repeated, brow raised. That was an oddly specific topic to think about.

"Oh yes, it's wonderful!" said Selphie excitedly, hands clasped and starry-eyed. "They say if two people share one, their souls are bound together forever! It's sooo romantic. I wish some boy would share a paopu fruit with me," she added, battering her eyes at Sora.

"Well, good luck with that," said Sora, walking away.

Selphie stared at the spot where Sora had been standing for a long few seconds, blinked, and then frowned. She followed him out of the treehouse, and just as he was climbing down the ladder, Selphie ripped a coconut from one of the hanging branches and dropped it on top of him.

"OW!" Sora cried.

So now nursing a swollen bump that, which he did not know why he deserved, Sora moved across the sandy road to the lookout deck and started climbing. Once at the top, he saw the rope in the corner where Tidus said it would be, but also found Wakka leaning against the railing. Sora groaned inwardly. If there was one thing that Tidus and Wakka both shared, it was their competitive spirit. Wakka no doubt saw the match from the lookout and would likely challenge Sora to a match with the rope as the prize. Resigning to his fate, Sora pulled out his bo staff and made his way over.

"Hey, what's happening, man?" said Wakka, sounding very easy-going. "Saw you match against Tidus. Very nice."

"Thanks," said Sora. "Listen, I'm gonna need that rope. Do you mind if – "

"Sorry, dude, can't let you have that," said Wakka.

"Let me guess, you won't let me have it without having a match with you first," said Sora, moving into a fighting position. "Okay, you're on. But I warn you, I've been getting a lot stronger lately!"

"What? No!" said Wakka, mouth agape. "I was going to say I can't let you use that rope because some seagulls have been picking at it lately. If you tie your raft with that thing, it'll break about before you're even out in open water. Here, take this one, its brand new," he added, handing Sora a roll of fresh rope.

"Oh," said Sora, suddenly feeling pretty stupid. "Sorry about that. I just thought I'd have to fight you to get it."

"What do you think this is, a video game?" said Wakka jokingly.

They both laughed at the ridiculous thought; as if they could ever be characters in a video game.

Now equipped with one log, the cloth, and the rope, that only left the final log to be collected, and if Tidus was right, then he would find it on the mini island just off the shore. Now there were two ways to get to the mini island: one was to swim to the ladder that was built on the side, and the other was through the seaside shack and over the wood bridge. Since he didn't feel like taking a dip today, he chose the scenic route.

A quick trip through the shack and a leisurely stroll across the bridge and he was on the miniature island that sprouted just off the shore of the main island. It wasn't much to look at; just a few sparse trees, one of which was bent at an odd angle that made it a perfect place to sit and watch the sunset. The log was under one of the trees just as Tidus had informed him, but he also found Riku sitting on the bended tree staring off into the distance. This wasn't too surprising; everyone said that Sora was the dreamer, but Riku was always the one lost in his little world. The silver-haired boy's attention was taken from his own thoughts, however, when the sand crunched under Sora's shoes and her turned his focus towards his best friend.

"Hey, Sora," said Riku casually. "You are here trying to skip off work again, are you?"

"I'll have you know I've been working very hard," said Sora defensively, crossing his arms. "I've already collected most of the supplies we need and just need to get this last log."

"I see," said Riku, chuckling lightly. "Well, good job then. You can work when you want to."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," said Sora sarcastically, grabbing the last long and somehow stuffing it in his pocket.

"I saw your match with Tidus earlier," said Riku, pointing over his shoulder. "You really surprised me, Sora. I've never seen you use moves like those before. You haven't been holding out on me, have you?"

"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't," said Sora in a challenging fashion. "Wanna find out?"

"You're seriously calling me out," said Riku, laughing while he jumped down. "You do know where the record stands, right? We've fought fifty-two times in the past four years and you've never beaten me once. Just because you beat Tidus, doesn't mean you're up to my level yet."

"Well, maybe today things change," said Sora, pulling out his bo staff.

"Whatever you say," said Riku, tightening the straps on his gloves. "Just don't cry when you lose."

Sora leered at his best friend; Riku just smirked with confidence.

The two friends walked a small circle around the mini island, keeping equal distance between them. When they finished the lap around, Riku suddenly jumped forward with his fist clenched at shoulder height and took a swing at Sora's face. The spiky-haired boy deflected the shot with his staff and pushed Riku away, causing him to slide backward in the sand. He charged at his best friend with his staff spinning at his side and took a swipe at Riku's head when he was within swinging distance. Riku ducked underneath the wooden pole, took a step forward, and shot back up with a strong uppercut to Sora's chin. He flipped backward onto his stomach, faceplanting into the sand for the second time that day.

"Ow…," Sora moaned.

"All those fancy moves leave you wide open," said Riku smugly. "How about a little less flash and a little more substance."

"You totally ripped that quote off," said Sora, crawling to his hands and knees.

"Maybe I did," said Riku, "but you're still not gonna beat me."

Glaring, Sora shot right back up and took another swing at Riku's head, which the silver-haired boy effortlessly dodged. He tried for two more horizontal swings and jabbed him with the end of his staff, but Riku was too fast and too skilled to be hit, ducked and weaving his way around every shot like he was playing with Sora. And in retrospect, he probably was. The frustration was starting to get to Sora. He let out a fierce war cry (or at least it sounded fierce to him), grabbed the end of his weapon with both hands and swung it down with all his strength. Unfortunately, Riku easily managed to sidestep the blow, letting the staff smack into the ground and send sand flying everywhere.

With a grimace, Sora tried to take his weapon back, but when he tugged at it, the staff wouldn't move. Riku's foot was planted firmly on the staff, keeping it locked in place; the boy himself stood over Sora, arms crossed and face broken into a grin.

"My turn," said Riku.

Riku kicked at Sora's hands and forced him to drop the weapon. Now with nothing left to defend himself with, Sora was left helpless as Riku brought his fist around and drilled his knuckles into Sora's stomach; Sora' resisted the urge to puke. Sora could only stumble pathetically holding his abdomen when Riku closed the distance between them again. A jab to the shoulder, a blow to the ribs, a kick to the shin, and a right hook across the face – Sora was little more than Riku's punching bag at this point. When Riku was finished throwing him around like a ragdoll, Sora could barely find the energy to stand; even the smallest breeze could knock him over.

Riku blew on him; he toppled over like a tree.

"Looks like I win again," said Riku, laughing.

"Aw man, I can't believe I lost," Sora moaned into his hands.

"Hey, you lasted a minute longer than you did last time," said Riku, offering his hand for his best friend to take. "That just shows you're getting better and better. Maybe one day you'll actually be a challenge for me."

"One day I swear I'm gonna beat you," said Sora, taking the hand and letting Riku pull him up. "Just you watch. I'm gonna be super strong the next time we fight."

"Whatever you say," said Riku nonchalantly, walking over to the bended tree and taking his seat again. "Anyway, you should probably head back to Kairi soon. She's probably worried you fell into the pond again."

"That was one time!" Sora moaned. "Let it go already!"

All Sora could hear was Riku boastful laughter when he walked along the bridge back toward the seaside shack, and once again when he walked under the bridge toward the spot where he was supposed to meet Kairi.

* * *

Sora and Kairi spent hours working on the finishing touches of the raft with Riku dropping in on them from time-to-time. It was coming along rather nicely; they had managed a good foundation and created a strong sail that wouldn't break against strong winds, though it was a little small for three people. Riku assured them that it was big enough to carry them. By the time they were finished, the blue sky had turned a mixture of orange, red, and purple as the sun started to crawl over the horizon. Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie had already made their way back to the main island, but Sora and his best friends decided to hang around a little while longer.

The three of them met up at their favorite spot on the miniature island, Sora and Kairi seated comfortably on the bended tree while Riku leaned against it. For the longest time, everything was quiet; only the sound of the lapping waves and the chirping gulls breaking the silence. Then Sora chose to speak up:

"So…Kairi's home is out there, right?"

"Could be," said Riku, shrugging his shoulders. "We'll never know by staying here."

"But how far could a raft take us?" asked Sora. "I talked to Tidus earlier and he said something about other worlds being through space. Is it really possible to get anywhere by sailing there?"

"Who knows?" said Riku nonchalantly. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."

"So, suppose you get to another world," Kairi said to Riku. "What would you do there?"

"Hmm…well, I…never really thought about it," said Riku honestly. "It's just…I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds…. Then ours is just a small piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

"I don't know," said Sora, leaning back on the tree lazily.

"Exactly," said Riku. "You remember the story about the girl who used to live on this island. Legend says she managed to find her way off the islands somehow. If she can do it, then so can we. Once we're out there, then we can find the answers we're looking for. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go."

"You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" Kairi said softly to Riku.

"Thanks to you," said Riku, turning to the girl. "If you hadn't come here, I probably never would've thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks."

"You're welcome," said Kairi, giggling shortly.

The sun was about to disappear over the ocean by the time they decided they should return to their homes. Kairi was the first to cross the bridge with Sora tagging along from behind when –

"Sora!" Riku called.

Sora turned around and held out his hands just in time to catch something flying towards him. He looked at it for a good moment. It was an odd yellow fruit shaped like a star.

"You wanted one, didn't you?" said Riku.

"A paopu fruit?" said Sora, sounding very confused.

"Legend has it that if two people share one, their destinies become intertwined," said Riku, causally walking past his best friend. "They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what. C'mon, I know you want to try it."

"What are talking – "

Sora stopped himself, suddenly realizing what Riku was implying and felt his entire face turn warm. This feeling must have been expressed on his face because Riku suddenly started laughing and took off after Kairi. Pouting irritably, Sora tossed the fruit over the bridge and chased after his best friend, intent of paying him back.

All the while, the person in the black coat continued to watch the children from the treetops, staring at their backs intently

* * *

^  
llll **  
**( **ATLAS** ) **  
**llll  
U

* * *

Hundreds of worlds across the galaxy, far from the small world of the Destiny Islands, was the Kingdom of Atlas, so far known as the only surviving Kingdom of their former world, Remnant. It had been many years since that unspoken event took place and many still bared the scars of that day, but they tried to work through the pain and move forward. As they did before the catastrophe, Atlas continued to be a military power, focusing on increasing the strength of their soldiers and working towards creating new and more advanced technology. Very few people were left without work and hardly any went a day starved, even the Faunus. All in all, their newly created world was almost perfect in Ciel's opinion.

Commander Ciel Soleil, a dark-skinned woman that rarely parted with her favorite blue burette, was a hard working person even from her time in the Academy and her efforts were well rewarded. When she walked into the communication station that morning, everyone in attendance immediately straightened their backs and worked twice as hard as they did before she had entered. This pleased Ciel; she took pride in knowing she could whip even the laziest of men into form. The reason she was so feared was because she heavily scrutinized even the tiniest of details and punished those who made the slightest mistakes.

"Why are those communications relays not up yet?" shouted Ciel. "They should have been active 1.6 seconds ago!"

"I'm sorry, commander!"

"The communal timetables were also posted 0.5 seconds late!" Ciel continued. "This is unacceptable, people! The lives of every men and woman in Atlas are dependent on us!"

"I'll get them up faster next time, commander, I swear!"

"And there should have been a triple-chocolate mocha with cinnamon and whip cream in my hand exactly 1.1 seconds ago!" shouted Ciel irritably. A trembling Atlesian soldier trotted over, kneeling to his commander and presenting her with her caffeinated beverage. Ciel took a sip, humming for a moment. "Acceptable. But it better be on time tomorrow or you'll be searching for a new job."

"Yes, Commander!"

"Commander Soleil!" shouted an Atlesian soldier, running across the room and waving a sheet of paper in the air. "Commander Soleil, we just received an urgent message from the outside worlds."

"You know very well that I don't check any messages until 1208 hours," said Ciel, taking another sip of her coffee.

"But commander…it came in on a Beacon frequency."

All staff members turned in their seats and stared when a loud _**splash**_ echoed in the room. The spilled remains of Commander Soleil's coffee was splattered all over the floor, soaking into the dark-skinned woman's shoes, but she did not seem to notice or care. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open, like she had seen a ghost. Without a word of warning, Ciel spun around on her heel and ripped the message from the soldier's hands. Her eyes raced back and forth through the lines, growing wider and wider with each sentence she read.

And then she stopped. The communication station was oddly quiet. And then….

"GENERAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL!" Ciel screamed at the top of her lungs.

The work staff covered their ears at their commander's screech, but the dark-skinned woman was already out the door before anyone could question the sudden strangeness in her behavior.

In another room on the opposite side of the military base, Captain Sun Wukong – a blonde, monkey-tailed Faunus that never learned to close the front of his shirt – was locked in epic combat with his worthy opponent, the indomitable redheaded, freckled android known as Penny Polendina. Sun had managed to corner Penny into the wall and drew back his weapon for the finishing blow. But just as he was about to strike, Penny suddenly bounced off the wall and landed behind him. Sun didn't have a chance to defend himself as Penny's sword slashed her sword across the air, sending his head flying across the arena –

" **GAME OVER – PENNY WINS!** " said the game announcer.

"Son of a Grimm!" groaned Sun, falling on his back and throwing his controller aside. "How did you get so good at this? I'm supposed the best when it comes to fighting games!"

"It's all about calculations," said Penny, smiling as she set her controller down. "And since I'm a robot, making calculations is very easy for me."

"So, in other words, you cheated," Sun complained.

"I guess you could see it that way," said Penny casually.

Sun groaned louder, throwing his arms, legs, and tail out as if ready to throw a tantrum. But just before then, the door to their room slammed opened and Penny and Sun looked over, spying the panting and sweating Ciel. Sun's pout quickly shifted to a grin as he kicked back up to his feet and moved close to the commander, arms outstretched. He settled his hands on either side of the commander's waist and pulled her closer to him, smiling softly down at the shorter woman.

"Hey, babe, you're off work early," said Sun flirtatiously. "Not that I'm complaining; gives me an excuse to ditch work and hang out with my favorite girl."

"Honey, this is no time for – what are you two doing in here?" said Ciel, pushing away from the monkey faunus and spotting the gaming console. "Are you two playing video games during work hours again?"

"We were on break," said Penny happily. "The guys in the RT Department made a new game called Grimm Eclipse. It's a game where you can play all kinds of famous hunters and battle each other or the Grimm. Aaaand…those also made these really cute plushie toys," she added, pulling out four plushies from behind her back. "Look! It's Team RWBY!"

"You can't just spend military funding on – OH MY OUM, THIS IS SO CUTE!" Ciel said excitedly, grabbing and hugging the adorable Blake plushie. When she noticed Sun and Penny stare at her with smug grins, Ciel hid the Blake plushie behind her back and straightened herself; red powdered her face. "Anyway, have either of you seen the General? I need to give her an urgent message."

"I had a feeling you might. I could hear your screaming halfway across the base.

Sun, Ciel, and Penny turned in unison and suddenly jumped together in a straight line, presenting a salute to the woman that stepped in. It was the woman from Sora's dreams – the one asking the strange questions – though she was significantly older than she had appeared then. Her face was thin and rigid with very pronounced tear-troughs; her bangs that hangs on one side was now parted to frame her face, revealing the jagged scar that was cut above her left brow. Her regal suit was replaced by a formal uniform required by the Atlas military; the front was decorated in an assortment of medals and badges.

The woman walked across the room with her posture held perfectly: shoulders apart, back straight, and hands folded behind her back. She walked by each of her three underlings without sparing a glance, turned on her heels, and faced them with a firm stare.

"At ease," she commanded. The trio dropped their hands, but she not break formation. "Commander Soleil, what is the meaning of your outburst earlier this hour."

"General Schnee, we just received an urgent message from the outside worlds," said Ciel formally, presenting the paper to her commanding officer. "It was sent via the Beacon Frequency."

"That's impossible," said General Schnee, eyes narrowing. "Beacon Academy fell along with its headmaster ten years ago. There shouldn't be anyone capable of using that frequency."

"I had the message authenticated, ma'am," said Ciel. "Everything came back positive. It's real, ma'am."

Still not convinced, the general snatched the message from Ciel's hands and allowed her eyes to wander over it. Like Ciel, her eyes became wide and her mouth began to open in disbelief the more she read the note. When she reached the end, she lowered the paper with a stunned expression, turning to her subordinates as if expecting to tell her it was a prank

None of them did.

"This is…," said General Schnee softly, before turning to Ciel. "Commander Soleil, call an emergency assembly immediately. If what this message is saying is true, then we can only assume the worst."

* * *

 **That concludes the first real chapter of this series (not counting the prologue, of course). So we finally got some RWBY characters in here and I'm sure you're already starting to piece together what's happening if you have already played the Kingdom Hearts series. As you may have noticed, I'm making a rather crude attempt at humor here – I always thought there were plenty of spots where KH could have been funnier; this is my pitiful take on it. I also wasn't too fond of the fighting scenes – I thought they could have been better – but hopefully I'll be able to improve once the characters have real abilities to use; some helpful advice on the subject wouldn't hurt either.**

 **The next chapter is the second part of the three part Destiny Islands Arc. For any of those wondering who the person in the black coat is, I can promise you it's not the story villain like in the original. The identity of this person plays a critical role to the series in general. Think you can figure it out. While you do, please read and review.**


	3. Destined Beginnings, Part 2

**Chapter Two: Destined Beginnings, Part 2**

The next day came a lot quicker than Sora expected; it barely felt like two minutes had passed since he went home for the night and the sun was already starting to shine over the horizon. Oddly enough, he wasn't the least bit tired; these days were becoming really weird. So, finishing up a quick breakfast and grabbing a boat, Sora paddled his way to the play island for another day of working on the raft.

Sora floated gently into the docks and tied up his boat so that it wouldn't float away like last time; he could still hear Riku laughing in his head. Selphie was also hanging around the docks, staring out into the deep blue ocean. Sora waved his hand and started to greet her, but the girl puffed her cheeks and turned her head with a loud "Hmph!" Sora dropped his hand looking very confused. Was Selphie mad at him for something? He didn't remember doing anything that would upset her….

"Hey, Sora!" he heard Tidus shouted as he and Wakka walked down the docks toward them. "What took ya so long? Riku and Kairi have been looking for you. Probably has something to do with that raft of yours."

"Yeah, I supposed to meet them in the cove an hour ago," said Sora with a groan. "Man, Riku's never going to let me hear the end of this. By the way, do you know why Selphie looks so angry?" he added, gesturing over his shoulder at the girl.

"Eh, it's no big deal," said Tidus, waving him off. "She just got shot down by some guy she likes – "

A coconut flew over Sora's shoulder and smacked Tidus square in the face; Sora thought he heard bone snap. Tidus tumbled backward off the docks and landed on the beach on his back, his nose crooked with a purplish-blue color. Sora and Wakka slowly turned their heads around to Selphie, who was juggling another coconut in her hand threateningly, silently daring either one of them to say a word. Both boys wisely kept their mouths shut, slowly backing away.

"Man, girls can be scary sometimes," said Sora.

"You don't need to tell me," said Wakka. "Lulu freaks me out plenty."

"Well, I oughta get going and see what Kairi wants me to do today," said Sora. "I hope she doesn't have any coconuts lying around or I'm in big trouble."

"Relax, Kairi wouldn't hurt a fly," said Wakka, throwing his arm around Sora's shoulder and laughing. "Hey, after you're done playing errand boy and Tidus wakes up, maybe you'd like on join us on a little exploration trip?"

"But we pretty much explored the whole island," said Sora. "Where would we even go?"

"To the secret place," said Wakka, pointing to the narrow hole next to the waterfall. "Selphie said she saw someone go in there earlier and she definitely didn't recognize them. She says they were wearing a coat, so she couldn't see their face, but she knew they had to be an adult. And you know the adults don't hang around on this island. That must mean there's something special they want to keep hidden in there."

"Huh, that's a good point," said Sora, humming thoughtfully. "All right, I take a look at it later. But first I need to meet up with Riku and Kairi. Later."

Waving good bye to the taller boy, Sora rushed across the shoreline for the door where he had talked to Kairi the previous day. He walked through it and entered the cove that created the backside of the island. Just like the front of the island, the entire cove was littered with wooden construction – all of which were rumored to have been made by the same girl that built the lookout and the tree house. A couple of wooden bridges connected two pieces of land over a shallow pool of water and led to a tall tower that had been fashioned with a crude zip line. Whoever it was that made them, Sora had to give them a hand for their fine work. These wooden creations had been around long before Sora and the others were born and they were still standing. Very impressive.

Sora barely stepped through the door when he felt something knock against the side of his head. He rubbed the sore spot and glared at Riku, who was smirking jokingly.

"Late again, I see," said Riku tauntingly. "Can't say I'm surprised. I think it's a miracle you just got out of bed."

"Yeah, yeah, I get," said Sora, pouting. "I'm here now, so what do we do now?"

"Well, Kairi and I already did our share for the day," said Riku, "so that just leaves you to get the rest of the supplies. Once we have them, we'll be set to leave first thing tomorrow morning. Go see Kairi; she'll tell you what to look for."

"Okay," said Sora. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, we need a name for the ship," said Riku. "Now, since I'm the captain of the ship, I think the name should be Highwind."

"Why do you get to be captain," Sora complained. "I could be captain too, you know."

"All right, 'captain', what would you call it?" said Riku challengingly.

"Uh…uh…," Sora stammered, having not anticipated the return. "How about…Crescent Rose?"

"Crescent Rose," said Riku, snickering. "Isn't that a little girly."

"Hey, it's a good name!" Sora defended.

Honestly, Sora didn't understand why he chose that name in the first place. There were plenty of other names that, in his opinion, would have been a whole lot better, like Excalibur. But where his brain chose the name, his mouth formed something completely different, almost as if he had no control over what he said. And if he was being truthful, Crescent Rose didn't like a good name for a ship. But since he suggested it, there was no way he could take it back, not without Riku taunting him for it.

"Well, there's only one way to settle this," said Riku.

"The usual?" said Sora.

"You got it," said Riku.

At the same time, Kairi appeared at the top of the bridge and noticed the de3termined looks her boys were sharing. It didn't take a genius to know what they were thinking. Kairi rolled her eyes at them, but laughed either way and called out:

"Are you guys at it again?" said Kairi playfully. "I thought I was supposed to be in charge of getting the raft done, not playing referee with you two."

"You've always been good at multitasking," said Riku.

"All right, let's get this over with," said Kairi. "The usual rules apply: take any route you want. First to touch the star-shaped tree on the opposite side of the cove and make it back here wins. Hang on, I'll be down in a second to start."

"Hey, Sora," Riku whispered to him. "Before we start, how about making a little wager."

"Sounds good to me!" said Sora eagerly. "If I win, I'm captain! And if you win…"

"I get to share a paopu with Kairi," Riku interrupted; Sora made gagging sound, staring at him wide-eyed. "Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi."

"Wha…wait a minute…," Sora sputtered. This was a joke right? He wasn't being serious, was he?

"Okay, on my count," said Kairi, snapping Sora out of her stupor. She was standing off to the side with her arm outstretched as if ready to wave a checkered flag. Riku, still smirking, moved into a ready position while Sora was still dumbstruck. "Three…two…one…GO!"

Before her arm even reached the end of its arc, Riku had already taken off like a speeding bullet with Sora stumbling behind him. Riku's mind games had their effect on the spiky-haired boy – he was lagging way behind than he usually would in their races.

They crossed the bridges first. Fortune had smiled on Sora this once when a rotting piece of wood snapped under Riku's foot, causing him to stumble over himself briefly. It wasn't enough to really slow him down, but it did Sora the chance to catch up with him, putting them neck-and-neck. Once they crossed the bridge, they reached a split in the course. There were three ways to reach the star tree from here. The first was the safest route, dropping down to the shoreline and running across the sand to the rump. The second route was to take the tower and catch the zipline to the top of the ramp. It was a speedy route, but the time it took to climb the ladder tended to give the other person the lead. The speediest and riskiest route was to jump across the tree tops. It was a straight shot to the star tree, but one wrong move resulted in instant failure.

Thinking carefully over these options, Sora took a hard right and dropped down to the beach and started running as fast as his legs could carry him. By the time he reached the top of the ramp, however, he found that Riku was already at the star tree and starting to make his way back across the tree tops.

"There's no reward without taking risks, Sora!" Riku called back. "See you at the finish line!"

Sora could feel the panic starting to rise inside of him. He quickly touched the star tree and raced along the same path as Riku, who had already reached the end of the tree line and was rushing for the last stretch. By the time Sora reached the other end of the tree tops, Riku was already halfway across the bridge, only a few yards away from Kairi. Riku was too far ahead of him. There was no way he could catch up now. He was going to lose….

"C'mon, Sora, don't give up!" Kairi cheered from a distance.

Sora doesn't really remember much of what happened after that. When Kairi's words of encouragement reach his ears, his whole body suddenly felt light as a feather. He took a step forward and suddenly he was flying across the bridge; everything around him looked like they were moving in slow motion. He could barely make out the stunned look on Riku's face and he passed by. Before he could make sense of what happened, Sora slapped Kairi's hand to mark the end of the race and skidded to a stop behind her, sending sand flying everywhere. Sora stared open mouth at his feet, acting as if it was the first time he had seen them. He didn't need to look at Riku to know they shared the same expression. The only person who didn't seem bothered by this was Kairi, who grabbed Sora by the wrist and raised it in the air.

"Winner and new champion: Sora!" Kairi cheered.

"Um…yay?" said Sora uncertainly.

"Sora…how did you do that?" said Riku stunned. "One second you were behind me and then…."

"I'm just that good, I guess," said Sora, suddenly breaking out in a goofy grin. "Either way, I won! I'm the champion!"

"Relax, it's just a name," said Riku, laughing. "Oh, and by the way, that bet we made before the race, I was totally pulling your leg. Now don't you look stupid?"

Sora just gapped at Riku as the silver-haired boy walked out through the wooden door to the main breach, leaving him only with Kairi and the shredded remains of his dignity. Curse that Riku. Even when he lost, he still managed to find a way to win.

"What bet was he talking about?" asked Kairi, leaning in curiously.

"Uh – uh – nothing! Nothing at all!" said Sora quickly. "Hey, look at the time, we should really get to work on that raft! Race you there, Kairi!"

"Sora, wait up! You know I can't run as fast as you!" shouted Kairi, chasing after the spiky-haired boy.

But as Sora and Kairi crossed the bridge and dropped down onto the beach on the opposite side of the cove, a person dressed in a long black coat stepped out from the shadows. It was the same person that had been watching them the previous day. The unknown kneeled into the sand and picked up something: a single red rose petal. Roses were not indigenous to this island; it had to have come from somewhere else. The unknown closed their fingers over the petal gently.

"I was right," said the unknown; their voice was clearly feminine. "It is him."

* * *

Sora looked over their handmade raft, overall very impressed with how it turned out. Thanks to Riku's contributions, the logs were securely fastened into a stable body for all three of them to stand on and the sail was tied so that a strong breeze wouldn't blow it away. Sora was a little concerned where they were going to put their things so that they don't get knocked off by the waves, but he figured they'd worry about that when the time came. Kairi was keeping herself busy checking over the boat's integrity to make sure nothing was loose when she turned on Sora.

"Sora, I need you to go out and collect some provisions for the trip," said Kairi. "Let's see…we're looking for…one seagull egg, three mushrooms, two coconuts, three fish, and some fresh water. Don't take any from the ocean; get it from the waterfall with this," she added, handing him a large glass bottle. "When you have everything, come back here so we can do inventory."

"Well, I got the coconut covered," said Sora, pulling the items out of his pockets. Kairi stared at him strangely. "Selphie uh…gave them to me."

"That was nice of her," said Kairi, taking the coconuts. "That's one less thing to look for. You should be able to find most of it around the cove. Tidus said he saw a seagull egg on top of a tree near the shack, and mushrooms like to grow in dark places. Best bet is you can find one hiding in the secret place. Get back soon with that stuff, all right. I want to get this done before sunset."

Finding the items were easy enough, especially since he grew up on the islands and knew where they would be beforehand. While most fish were out in deeper waters, there were a few strays that wandered in too close to the mainland. They usually gathered in the pool under the bridges since it was the deepest body of water on the island. Sora spied exactly three fish from his position on the bridge grouping up below him. He waited very patiently until the fish were calm enough to approach. Then, once it looked like they had settled, Sora jumped from his place and stomped the water, splashing water everywhere. The fish were flung into the air and Sora caught all of them at once.

"Oh yeah!" Sora whooped. "Sora three, fish zero!"

The mushrooms were even easier to find. Just as Kairi had said, they liked to grow in dark places, so it was a simple matter of search for areas where the light rarely touched. He dug his way through a brush of bushes to locate the first one, even managing to snag a couple of edible berries for the trip as a bonus. The second shroom was a little more difficult since it was hiding inside a small alcove blocked by a large rock. Sora actually had to call Riku for help since neither one of them could have pushed the boulder out of the way on their own.

Next came the Seagull egg, which Sora had been dreading. If Tidus's intel had been correct – and it had been thus far – the egg would be found at the top of one of the palm trees near the shack at the front of the island. Finding the tree, easy. Climbing the sides like a monkey to reach the top, a piece of cake. But when he was at the top and ready to take the egg, that was the difficult part. By the time he had reached the top, no kess that twenty seagulls were lying in wait, glaring their beady eyes at him in unison.

"Uh…nice birdies?" said Sora nervously.

Sora got the egg in the end, but not without a fight.

Sora was just finishing up collecting water from the island falls. It was big enough to hold an entire gallon, but Sora doubted that it would last them for their entire voyage. Maybe if they rationed it properly. Replacing the bottle in his pocket, all that was left on his to-do list was find the last remaining mushroom. Kairi suspected it would be in the secret place, which just happened to be right next to the waterfall under the shadow of the giant tree. The hole into the place was very small; Sora remembered a time when they were younger when they could just crouch inside. Now they had to get on their hands and feet.

He crawled through the tiny entrance that opened into a narrow cavern where the roots of the tree were digging through the stone walls. Walking further inside, the path opened into a wide circular area where nearly every part of the walls were covered in crude chalk drawings. Sora, Riku and the others had been coming into to this place for years since they were kids; it was like their own special hang out away from everyone else. But the oddest part of the cavern was the tall piece of wood on the end of the wall that no one could ever move. Riku said it looked like a door, but there was no handle. They tried for over a year to get it open, but none of them succeeded. And eventually, like all kids, they lost interest and left it alone. Except Sora. He couldn't stop wondering why it was here in the first place.

But this was not the time to be thinking about the door; he had a job to do. Looking around the cavern, he spotted the last mushroom sticking up from the floor, plucking it out of the dirt.

"That's the last one," said Sora. "Now to get these back to…Kairi…."

His voice trailed off, noticing the small drawing just above where the mushroom was. It was very simple compared to the rest of the cave drawings: a pair of faces, one of them with a spiky head and the other with messy lines. These were supposed to be pictures of Sora and Kairi. He remembered a long time ago when they were both young. They had decided to have fun and draw each other on the wall. Sora's drawing of Kairi was beyond terrible – it didn't even look like a face and more like a seaweed monster. But it was special to him. It was the first time Kairi ever talked to him, the first time she ever smiled at him.

Sora grabbed a rock off the ground and started scratching at the wall. His drawing skills weren't much better than they were back then, but he hoped the message was clear: a hand starting from his own head was offer a paopu fruit to Kairi. Sora just sat there in silence, staring at the picture as its meaning started to sink in his brain. However, he was ripped from his daydream when he heard footsteps coming into the cave. For one moment, he was afraid it was Riku and the silver-haired boy would see the picture, beginning a never ending cycle of teasing. However, the person that walked inside wasn't Riku.

The unknown visitor in the black coat looked around the cavern for a moment, taking in the drawings, before focusing on Sora.

"Wh – Who's there?" Sora questioned.

"I've come to see the door to this world," said the Unknown, her voice both dark and mysterious.

"Huh?" Sora stammered.

"This world has been connected," said the Unknown.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Sora asked nervously.

"This world has been tied by the growing darkness," said the Unknown. "Soon it will be completely eclipsed. The Grimm will ravage it all. And there is nothing that can be done to save it."

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this," said Sora. Then, he realized he had never met this person before. And he knew almost everyone on the islands. "Wait, where did you come from? Who are you?"

"I could be a friend, but I could also be an enemy," said the Unknown. "I do not know. Just as you do not know what await beyond that door."

"…you from another world!" said Sora, eyes wide in realization. "Riku was right! They do exist!"

"There is so very much for you to learn," said the Unknown. "Yet you understand so little. I suppose I should not be too surprised. You are both similar in that regard."

"Oh, yeah?" said Sora, glaring at the woman. "Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!"

"Learning is not the same as understanding," said the Unknown. "If you understand nothing, then you truly know nothing. I fear you will not be ready in time, but there will be no choice left. The time is fast approaching."

Sora wanted to ask her what she was talking about, to ask what was coming, but something distracted her. It sounded like something scratching against wood. Sora instinctively looked over at the door, but found nothing different about it. And when he looked back at the Unknown, she was nowhere to be seen either.

"What was that all about," said Sora, soon remembering the mushroom and other items jiggling around in his pocket. "Ah, it's probably just some crazy lady. I need to get back to Kairi with the stuff."

And Sora felt the place, but not without feeling a chill running down his spine. The Unknown's words were echoing in his brain. She had been warning him about something; something that was coming soon. And she said they were both similar. But the question was, who was he similar to?

* * *

Sora walked back to the cove where as the sun was starting to set over the horizon – had he really taken that long? Kairi had not been too angry with him; she had apparently kept herself busy building charms out of seashells, saying that if they were ever separated, the charm would bring them back together again. Sora didn't know whether to believe it or not, but he liked the concept of the charm. He didn't want to lose his friends any time soon. With the supplies settled away and the ship reported in top shape, they were all set for tomorrow.

Riku and the other kids had already gone home for the night, leaving Sora and Kairi as the last people on the island. Kairi didn't want to leave too soon and asked if they could stay and watch the sunset together. Sora couldn't help but comply with her request. The setting was perfect: just the two of them, alone, the ocean breeze blowing against their faces, the waves lapping beneath them, and the glistening light of the sun spreading over the cloud lines. Sora could not think of a more perfect moment.

And then, Kairi said something that really caught him off guard.

"You know, Riku has changed."

"What do you mean?" asked Sora.

"Well…" Kairi hummed hesitantly.

"You okay?" Sora asked worried.

"Sora, let's take the raft and go – just the two of us!" Kairi said suddenly, turning on him.

"Huh?" said Sora, both shocked and slack jawed.

"Just kidding," Kairi answered with a loud laugh.

"What's gotten into you lately?" asked Sora. "You're the one that's changed, Kairi."

"Maybe…" said Kairi sadly, only mournfully so. Now Sora felt bad. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here. Right?"

"Yeah, of course!" Sora all but shouted with encouragement.

"That's good," said Kairi. "Sora, don't ever change."

"Huh?" muttered Sora. She was acting really weird now.

As she stood up, watching the sunset with a glimmer in her eye, Sora couldn't resist this feeling in his chest that made him want to stay here forever, just the two of them.

"I just can't wait," said Kairi softly. "Once we set sail, it'll be great."

The two of them returned in comfortably silence, staring out into the horizon lost in their own worlds. It would be half an hour before they would paddle their way back to the mainland, filled with hope for tomorrow and dreams of the worlds that they would see. But the Unknown that had been watching them under the cover of the trees did not share their feelings. She stared at the fleeting dot that was the children, her voice soft and mournful.

"I'm sorry…. I am so sorry…."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the world of Atlas, an assembly had been called in the military war room. All the important members had been called into this meeting by General Schnee including Ciel Soleil, Penny Polendina, and Sun Wukong. They were joined by a balding old man whose sparse hairs were wild and unkempt, his eyes behind a pair of old bifocals. The last man to join them was a tall and well-built man with a full head of shocking white hair and a thin strip of metal over his left brow. The man carried himself using a sturdy cane with his left hand while his right arm was missing completely; the sleeve of his uniform was stapled to his shoulder.

The six that had gathered stared at the message on the table with scrutiny. They had read it many times over and every time it felt harder to believe:

 _ **I send this message to the General of Atlas in dire warning.**_

 _ **I don't have much time to explain myself as I believe I am being followed, but I will  
explain myself as best I can. In regards to the calamity that took place ten years ago,  
I fear that the same event is repeating itself on other worlds. Stars have been dying out,  
one by one, and can only mean that the worlds are in terrible danger. I am doing  
everything I can to resolve this matter, but I fear my power may not be enough.**_

 _ **I have come across someone in my recent travels – a boy – who may have the  
power to help us resolve this crisis. I cannot seek him out myself for fear of  
endangering him. I ask that you send two of your best men to safeguard him  
until he is strong enough to fight this.**_

 _ **I believe he will arrive in a world called Traverse Town in a matter of days.  
Once there, a mutual acquaintance of ours will point you in the right  
direction. Your people will know him when they see him.**_

The letter ends there, providing no further details of what they are supposed to look for or even a signature from the sender. General Schnee hummed in thought.

"General, what does this mean?" asked Ciel. "Do you think we should we trust these people?"

"I don't know," General Schnee admitted, leaning back in her chair. "What do you make of all this, General Ironwood?"

"I told you before, Winter," said the one-armed man, Ironwood. "I am no longer general of the Atlesian Military. It is your decision to make. Whatever it is do decide to do, we shall follow."

"Hmm…," Winter hummed again. "I don't want to believe that what they are saying is true, but we can't afford to overlook it. After the tragedy that took place ten years ago, we need to be ready to assume that a similar occurrence will take place soon."

"Permission to speak, General," asked Penny. Winter nodded in acknowledgement. "I think Sun and I should be the ones to go out and look for the boy this letter speaks of."

"Yeah, we've have the most experience of everyone in Atlas," said Sun in agreement. "If anyone can find this boy, we can."

"Yes, that would be the most logical course of action," said Winter.

Sun turned to Ciel, who turned to him with an apparent look of worry in her eyes.

"Ciel, I – " Sun began.

"No, I understand," said Ceil softly, reaching her hand out to cover his. "Just…promise me you'll come back safely. Both of you."

"It will be a long and perilous journey," said Winter, standing attention; everyone at the table repeated the action. "Our thoughts go with you, and we pray for your safe return. Go, hunt down and protect this boy at all costs, or else we face the threat of another tragedy."

"Sir, yes, sir!" shouted Penny and Sun in unison.

"Professor Polendina, please show them to the hanger," said Winter.

"At once, general," said the baldly old man. "Right this way, kids."

Professor Polendina lead the two across the military base down a spiraling staircase that lead to the lowest part of the world.

"There's something you two should know before you leave," said Professor Polendina. "While you two are on other worlds, you cannot let anyone know where you are from."

"Why is that, father?" asked Penny.

"Because, Penny, not many people know of the existence of other worlds," said Professor Polendina. "If that type of sensitive information were to get out, there would be chaos. The world were kept separated for a reason, you know. To preserve the world order, you must be discreet."

"I'm a man with a monkey tail sticking out of his butt," said Sun. "Discreet isn't exactly my thing."

Professor Polendina groaned, shaking his head in his hands.

When the trio reached the bottom of the staircase, they walked through a pair of sliding doors that opened into a massive workshop, which also doubled as a hanger. Everywhere one looked, the walls were lined with spinning cogs and smoking pipes; mechanical arms were flying in every direction, grabbing parts from the hundred rows of shelves or carrying welding tools to piece them together. In the middle of the workshop on top of a raised platform was their ship. It definitely wasn't something Atlas would have designed on their own; the material was made from a squishy, block substance and the overall appearance was very…cartoonish. Penny and Sun stared at the ship for a moment, tilting their heads.

"What is that thing made of, chewing gum?" said Sun with his brow raised.

"No, but something close to it," said Professor Polendina, moving behind a computer panel. "After the incident ten years ago, I made a discovery. These unusually materials – aptly called Gummi – are able to withstand the harsh pressures of space using only a limited amount of fuel. As you already know, Dust is useless once it moves away from the world's atmosphere, so we had to resort to crude methods of obtaining power. Nonetheless, this ship can achieve space travel without any difficulties, which means you are free to move between worlds as you see fit."

"Sweet!" said Sun excitedly, jumping into the space ship. "What are we waiting for? Let's light this bird already!"

"I'll see you soon, father!" Penny called out before following her partner.

Professor Polendina waved a final good bye to his daughter before initiating the sequence for launch. As the platform was lowered and the hanger door was opened ahead of them, Sun and Penny stared out the window to see General Schnee, Ironwood, and Ciel standing on the sidelines waiting for them to depart. Ceil looked very sad, which Sun was quick to notice and rest a hand against the glass. But Ciel still managed to smile through and waved good bye to the Faunus.

Professor Polendina activated the engines to the ship; Sun and Penny felt their seat vibrate underneath them as the engines roared to life. This was it – they were heading to the new worlds…. Sharing one last look to one another, the duo pointed forward and shouted together in unison:

"BLAST OFF!"

And the ship took off…straight through a hole in the floor.

"WHOSE STUPID IDEA WAS THIS?!" Sun screamed.

The exit was unexpected, but nonetheless the Gummi Ship popped out at the bottom of the world of Atlas. Taking a moment to collect their bearings, Sun and Penny hit the accelerators of the ship and took off into the distance, blinking into the stars.

* * *

 **And this about concludes the final chapter of the prologue sequence, so to speak. Next come the moment I hope (really hope) everyone had been looking forward to. The destruction of the Destiny Islands is imminent and Sora learns a new skill that may end up saving his life. Please read and review and especially critique it if you can. I don't feel I am improving unless told otherwise.**


	4. Thus Kindly We Scatter

**Chapter Three: Thus Kindly We Scatter**

Sora was restless; he couldn't help it.

It was very late at night and the sound of the rushing waves filled through the open window of his bedroom. Those waves were what made him so antsy; the thought of them taking him, Riku, and Kairi away from the islands. Everything was done; the raft was finished; they would leave first thing in the morning. Was he scared? Definitely. But he was also very excited. His mind wandered over the many potential worlds they would see out there. They would dive to undersea kingdom and soar through floating cities; there would be some lands that were sweet as sugar and some very scary. But all of it was worth it just to leave this monotonous life behind, even if it was only for a little while.

He wondered what Riku would think if he told him all this. Probably that Sora was spending too much time with his head in the clouds. Well, at least he knew Kairi was on board with him. Her words still echoed in the corners of his mind:

" _I can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great._ "

It will be great; Sora knew it would. Tomorrow, they would – wait, what was that?

Sora leaned up in his bed, staring out of the window. He hadn't realized it now because it was the middle of the night, but there were some ominous dark cloud looming over the second island. Streaks of light were flashing down and crackles of thunder bellowed from a distance.

"A storm?" said Sora, tilting his head curiously. It took a full minute before a sudden realization came to him. "Oh no, the raft!"

Without pausing to think, Sora ducked out of the window and ran straight down the beach, never hearing his mother calling him to dinner, never realizing the tragedy that would soon unfold.

* * *

Paddling to the island had been a very difficult task. Because of the raging storm gathering around the island, the waves were slamming his small boat in every direction, nearly tossing him out several times. He knew it was stupid to take a small boat in the middle of a storm – it went against common sense – but his thoughts were only on the raft. It was their only way to the new worlds and they worked so hard to make it. He couldn't just let all their effort go to waste.

The waves were getting harder as he approached the second island, but he managed to steady himself enough to push through. But as he got close, he realized there was something lurking in the darkness of the clouds, something that Sora could only describe as monstrous. Hovering over the island was a massive ball of black energy with a glowing red core. He knew this wasn't natural.

"What is that?" said Sora, openmouthed.

He glided into the docks of the second island and quickly jumped up to tie his boat down – he still needed a way off once the raft was secure. While he was securing his own boat, he quickly realized that his wasn't the only one. There were two more on the left and both of them looked very familiar.

"Riku's boat," murmured Sora. "And Kairi's. Are they trying to save the raft, too?"

Sora didn't have long to contemplate the question when he felt a sudden chill run up and down his spine. Sora shivered; it was like the time Tidus shoved a bucket of ice down the back of his shirt. He heard a loud _whooshing_ sound and turned his attention to the end of the docks. Sora stammered in disbelief as monsters – real monsters – began to emerged from black puddles on the ground. And they weren't just any monsters either. These were the small dog monsters that Sora had encounter in his dream. For a short moment, Sora started thinking that he was in a dream again, and that he was still back in his room, peacefully asleep. That thought lasted all of three seconds when one of the dog monsters lunged forward and bit his leg.

"Ow!" Sora cried out, shaking his leg. "Get off me!"

The monster just bit down harder; Sora cringed. Out of desperation, Sora pulled out the bo staff he had conveniently remembered bring with him, and smacked the dog in the face. The dog beast yelped and loosened its jaws. Sora pried his leg free from the animal and kicked it under its jaws, throwing it back with the rest of its companions. Sora jumped away from them and looked down at the damage. That surprised him more than the monsters. He knew he had been bitten, and it hurt, but there wasn't a mark on him.

"This just keeps getting weirder," said Sora. "How – WHOA!"

He barely managed to duck under another lunging dog monster, spinning around on his heel and kicking another one in the face as it came close. The beast looked surprised by the kick, but was mostly unaffected. The animal charged again, but this time had a whole pack rallying behind him. And quickly realizing that he was cornered as long as he stayed on the docks, Sora dived onto the beach and rolled into a crouched position. The dog monsters chased after him.

Sora smacked away the first monster that tried to jump him and rolled underneath the second one that followed. The third one Sora jabbed in the forehead, making it disoriented, and kicked it back with the rest of its pack, which looked to be growing bigger by the minute. Sora knew he couldn't win against this kind of numbers. He needed to find Riku and Kairi and the three of them had to leave the island immediately, even if it meant sacrificing the raft.

Sora took another swing at the growing number of monsters, suddenly stopping when one of the animals caught the tick in its jaws. The dog beast leered at him through its red-and-white mask and bit down, snapping the staff in two with a sharp _**crack**_! Sora stared at the splintered end of his weapon for a moment, blinking comically. The tiny monsters were slowly closing in on him in droves, all of them baring their flesh-ripping teeth.

"Okay, time for plan B," said Sora.

With that said, he turned on his heel, dropping the broken remains of his weapon, and ran as fast as he could up along the beach. The dog monsters were right on his tail. Sora knew it would be a bad idea to keep running along the shoreline – the sand would slow him down eventually – and made a beeline for the shack. He threw his shoulder into the door to open it and slammed it shut behind him; he could hear the monster banging the paneling. After a full two minutes of trying to break through, the noises stopped. It seemed like they were giving up. Sora let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Going outside on the beach did not seem like the safest thing to do at the moment, so Sora opted to climb the stairs to a higher vantage point. He hoped that those…things, whatever they are, weren't smart enough to climb. When he opened the door to the second level, the sky opened up to give him a better view of the menacing dark nova floating above the island. It looked even more menacing from this angle. But to his immense surprise and relief, he saw his best friend standing underneath the core on the miniature island, staring up at it.

Sora raced across the wooden bridge, unaware of the pools of shadow emerging behind him.

"Riku, thank goodness I found you!" said Sora immediately. "Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!"

"The door…has opened…," Riku answered ominously.

"What?" said Sora confused.

"The door has opened, Sora!" Riku repeated with a firm voice, turning around to face him. His expression was hardened, almost determined. "Now we can go to the outside world!"

"What are you talking about?" said Sora. "How can you think about other worlds now when ours is in serious danger? You see those monsters running around? It's insane! We have to find Kairi – "

"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku yelled forcefully. Sora looked dumbstruck by the sudden outburst. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

Ever so casually, Riku offered his hand to Sora, silently beckoning him to join. Sora hesitated, not believing what he was hearing. He always knew Riku wanted to leave the islands – it almost borderlined on desperation – but the Riku standing in front of him was a different person. He was willing to give up his home, his friends, and his family all for a chance to see what's out there. Sora wanted just as much to see the other worlds as him, but was it really worth it to throw away everything they cared about.

"Riku…" said Sora, not knowing how else to respond.

Then suddenly, a pool of blackness rippled to life at Riku's feet. From the inky-black pit, a pack of monsters began to climb all over him, their claws reaching out for anything they could touch. These monsters were not the same beasts Sora had met on the beach; these creatures were larger than most adults and had a wolfish shape to them – they reminded Sora of those werewolves in the movies. Even as the monster slowly devoured him in their darkness, Riku did not falter; he continued to hold out his hand to Sora with that same look of confidence.

Sora didn't know what to think or feel about Riku's personality shift, but he did know that his best friend was in trouble. The spiky-haired boy rushed forward trying to grab Riku's hand, but the moment he stepped into the black pool, there werewolf monsters began latching their claws around his ankles. He tried to shake them off, but they were too powerful. He tried to reach out to Riku, but he was still too far away. The darkness was climbing over him, suffocating him; he could feel his body starting to lose weight and the heat leave his chest. Sora's eyes started rolling into the back of his head as the werewolf monster –

 _ **BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

Sora blinked; gunshots rang across the island; the darkness disappeared.

The spiky-haired boy took a deep breath as sweet air slowly filled his lungs again and his vision started to turn normal. The werewolf monsters lay in a circle around his feet with dime-sized holes in the center of their masks. Smoke was wafting from their bodies as if they were evaporating into nothingness. The monsters were dead, but when he looked over, he also noticed that Riku had vanished, most likely taken by the darkness. As much as Sora wished to mourn for the loss of his best friend, he found he had very little time when he noticed something dropped from the sky and landed in the sand on his left side.

Sora looked at the strange object, tilting his head in confusion as he picked it up and started to turn it over to inspect the contraption. The strange device was almost rectangular in shape, but the creases in various places told him that it was folded down and meant to be much larger. It was colored in bright, cheerful red with black trims running along the edges and what looked to be a rose symbol engraved onto the circular swivel frame of the device. Sora had never seen such a device before in his life – the most advanced thing they had on the islands was a small box television they had at the local market.

"What is this thing?" asked Sora, holding the weird contraption over his head to look at the underside. "Is it some kind of weapon or…."

Sora unknowingly pressed a button on the side of the device. The strange gadget nearly knocked out his teeth when the back end shot out, revealing a hidden trigger mechanism and a circular scope popped out from the top.

"It's a gun," said Sora, finally realizing this. "A very weird gun, too. But how did it get all the way out here?"

This question rattled around Sora's head for a while, trying to make sense of everything. There was no way an obviously advanced piece of hardware would have come from the islands, so that had to have meant it came from somewhere else; maybe from another world. Did it come with those monsters? Or maybe…maybe that woman in the black coat left it for him. But if so, then why didn't she show herself.

Another _whooshing_ noise pulled Sora away from his thoughts. Pools of darkness had formed on the bridge, but thankfully none of the werewolf monster had shown up, only the small dog ones. They were all leering at Sora until their yellow eyes roamed downwards onto the weapon. Their growled became deeper and the hair on their backs started to stand on end. It looked like they recognized the weapons and they did not seem too happy about it.

The dog monsters howled and charged across the wooden bridge in tandem. Sora began fumbling with the weird weapon. All though his knowledge on all things concerning firearms was limited, it didn't take a genius to figure out how one worked. His finger on the trigger and his eye through the scope, Sora carefully took aim on the dog leading the pack, slightly swerving lightly until he got the monster directly in the crosshairs. And then, Sora pulled the trigger –

 _ **BANG!**_

Sora was knocked back on his butt by the gun's recoil. He had not expected the thing to be so powerful. He heard a sharp yelp and looked up, noticing that the dog leading the pack was missing its head and dissolving into a black mist like the werewolf monsters. It's comrades were not deterred by the gruesome demise of their pack leader and continued to rush Sora. The spiky-haired boy shot back up, pulled the handle on the side to eject the empty shell, and ground his feet in the sand before taking his next shot.

 _ **BANG!**_

The next dog monster had the right side of its face blow off –

 _ **BANG!**_

The next one was shot directly down the middle, leaving a gaming hole in its center.

 _ **BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

The gunshots blended in with the raging winds to create a symphony of chaos. Sora was feeling more and more confident with each shot he took, downing the dog monsters that came after him one after another. There were a few who managed to avoid his scope and were able to get close enough to lung at him. For those times, Sora would always roll or dive out of the way and hold out his rifle to their heads and shoot them pointblank. Sora didn't know how long it took, but within a few minutes of time, he managed to reduce the number of shadow beasts to single digits. The dogs beasts were smarter than they looked, realizing they stood no chance with very few numbers, and bounded over the side of the bridge to escape.

The moment they were gone, Sora looked over the red gun with newfound appreciation.

"This is the coolest thing ever!" said Sora cheerfully. "I can't wait to show Kai – oh my, Oum! Kairi! I completely forgot about her! Okay, Okay, I need to think! Calm down, Sora, take a deep breath," he said to himself, willing his body to slow down with the intake of oxygen. "Okay, I need to think this over for a moment. The island is under attack and those…things are running around everywhere. Where would be the safest place to hide…."

Almost as if by magic, the answer came to him the moment the words left his lips: the secret place. It was a well-hidden place that those monsters were unlikely to find in the middle of the night, and the narrow passage made it easy to defend in case they got lucky. Sora wasted no time running back across the bridge, running through the shack, and dashing down the beach. There were a few monsters that tried to get in his way, but Sora quickly shot them down before they could get close. He was really getting the hand of the weapon.

In no time at all, he was in front of the entrance to the secret place. He did a quick scan of the area to make sure that none of the monsters were planning to follow him inside before crawling through the hole. The fierce winds were muffled by the thick walls. The cavern was quiet; it didn't sound like any of the monsters had made it inside. Thanking his lucky stars, Sora ran deeper into the cavern into the open area. Almost immediately, he saw the back of his dear friend waiting near the blank door.

"Kairi!" Sora called out happily.

But as the redhead slowly turned on him, all his cheerfulness was sucked away. Kairi was deathly pale, even more so than usual, and her eyes half-lidded as if she had been drugged with something foul. She looked so fragile.

"Sora…," said Kairi, sounding more like a plea for help than anything.

Sora didn't move; he was afraid touching her might cause her to break. So Kairi move instead, taking a couple tiny steps toward him with her hand outstretch, begging him to come close.

And then the door behind her burst open, unleashing a tsunami of darkness from the depths beyond, spreading a sort of chilling cold that made Sora feel empty inside. From the darkness beyond, the werewolf monsters began to emerge in groups, snarling hungrily with their claws raised to cut them open. Their sights landed on Kairi and immediately the monster leading the pack jumped on top of her before Sora could utter a word of warning.

Just before the beast could reach, Kairi's necklace glowed with a warm light and a glowing white circle of light suddenly appeared behind her, pushing the werewolf back into its allies. The circle had a strange symbol glowing in the center; was that a snowflake? Sora didn't get the chance to think about it as the circle that pushed the werewolf back also pushed Kairi forward toward him. Sora instinctively threw out his arms to catch her, but just as they were a breadth's away from making contact, Kairi vanished. Sora stared into his arms openmouthed. Now both of his friends were gone.

The open door blew a second gust of darkness and the force behind it knocked Sora off his feet, throwing him back out of the secret place.

* * *

Sora landed face first in the sand – again – but thankfully wasn't hurt from the fall. The wind was howling even louder now that he was outside; it sounded like he was in the middle of a hurricane. He pushed himself to his hands and knees when he realized that he was on the edge of something that lead to a seemingly endless drop. That's when he realized that this little sandbar was the last piece of the entire island. Everything else – the trees, the cove, and the main island – all of it was gone, seemingly destroyed in the wake of the storm. Sora didn't know what to feel at that moment. He had just watched everything he knew be wiped away. That wasn't something you could prepare for.

Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, Sora nearly stumbled over the edge when something large landed on the tiny fragment, rattling the area. He shouldn't have been too surprised when he turned around and came face-to-beak with the giant bird from his dreams. The dog monster's arrival had already tipped him off that his dream wasn't just a dream; he knew the flying demon had to be hiding somewhere. But the situation wasn't the same as last time; this time he was upping his game.

"I don't know who you are or what you want!" shouted Sora, reloading the gun weapon. "But you better turn the island back to normal or else – "

The bird monster screeched in response; Sora covered his ears, wincing at the loud noise. The flying beast raised one of its clawed wings and made a wide swipe at the ground, leaving large gashes where she cut. Sora quickly rolled forward underneath the monster's wing, positioned himself in the crouching position, and centered his sight through the scope before taking two shots. The first bullet exploded near the bird's neck and the second blew on the right side of its beak. The bird monster shrieked again, taking a massive step backwards that hook the island fragment, but then shook its head as if shrugging off the shot. This was gonna be harder than he thought.

The bird beast's yellow eyes followed Sora as he started running around the tiny island fragment, ducking under its wings and taking several shots on various spots of its body. The creature did not seem harmed by the bullets, only annoyed. In response to the squirmy little human, the bird beast threw out its wings to their full length, shrieked into the darkness, and flew off into the air. Sora skidded to a stop. He had forgotten that birds could fly, as idiotic as that might sound.

The flying monster began to circle the island fragment with its beak aimed at the spiky-haired human at all times. Sora started taking wild shots the demonic avian, but the rough winds were blowing off the trajectory of the bullets and sending them off to who knows where. Sora hesitated to take any more shots from this distance – he didn't even know how many bullets this gun had left. And as if sensing his uncertainty, the bird beast turned on its wing and made a dive for the island fragment, sweeping the entire area with its massive body. Sora didn't know what to think at that moment and decided to let his instincts take over. As the monster swooped down on his, Sora jumped off the ground and flipped forward, somehow managing to glide over the bird's head. But while in mid-flip, Sora's finger accidentally pressed another hidden switch on his weapon and –

 _ **SLASH! SHRIEK!**_

The bird beast suddenly hit the ground with its beak, tumbling across the island fragment until it fell over the side.

Sora landed on his feet safely, but had to balance himself with the sudden additional weight that was added. He looked over his weapon again and his mouth dropped in awe. The gun had unfolded into a lengthy pole that unfurled at the end to display a three-foot long set of blades hidden in the underside of the main body with a pair of fang-like hooks exposed from the backside. The muzzle of the gun was still exposed on the top of the scythe, meaning that its shooting function still worked in this form.

"Okay, this is the coolest thing ever," said Sora excitedly. "Riku would be so jealous – "

Unfortunately, he was brought out of his 'showing up Riku' fantasy when the bird monster's familiar shriek rippled through the storm and the beast flapped back up above the island fragment. The monster's right wing was flapping with a limp – a large red gash was exposed from where the scythe had cut it open. The bird monster cawed in anger, but Sora was only more confident in his victory now that he knew he had his hand on a scythe-gun. The spiky-haired boy grabbed the end of the scythe with both hands and raised it over his head…just before falling backwards and hitting his head.

"Ow!" Sora whined, rubbing the sore spot. "It's so heavy! Why would anyone make it so heavy?"

So while Sora was trying to learn how to balance the massive scythe in his hands, the bird monster cawed again and flapped its wings in a wide motion in front of its body. Dozens of feathers suddenly shot from its wings like a volley of arrows, hitting the fragment starting from the edge and making their way towards Sora. The new scythe wielder was still trying to figure out how to balance the weapon in his hand and had no time to start dodging. Lucky for him, in his panic, Sora accidentally pulled the trigger mechanism and was shot sideways across the area out of the way of the feather strike.

Sora quickly stabbed the ground with the scythe blade, stopping himself just before he could fall over the edge.

"Man, this thing's got some kick to it," said Sora, sounding very impressed. Then a thought crossed his mind. "Hey, if this thing could shoot me all the way over here, then maybe – "

The bird beast cawed over his head again; it was getting very angry at him. The demonic avian stretched out its wings and threw itself forward for another dive with its beak open ready to devour him in a single gulp. Sora saw the monster coming and rushed to put his idea into action. He slammed the head of the scythe into the ground so the muzzle was buried in the sand. He placed his left foot on the scythe's hook and held his finger on the weapon's trigger. The bird beast was nearly on top of him –

 _ **BANG!**_

Sora pulled the trigger and was propelled upwards into the air clear above the monster's head. He fell right on the bird beast's back, nearly tumbling off the side by the amount of air pressure that was gliding across its body. Thankfully Sora managed to grab hold a clump of the monster's feathers and stayed on.

Both Sora and the monster were soaring high above the island fragment; they were so close to the dark nova overhead Sora could almost reach out and touch it. The bird beast was circling the area, tilting its head from side to side as if looking for something. It must not have realized that Sora was on its back. Very slowly, Sora stood up on the monster's back, balancing both his footing and the heavy scythe in his hand. Sora took a deep breath, adjusting his grip on the weapon. It took him a while, but finally figured out the right places to put his hands so that he wouldn't be tipped over by its weight. Good thing too, because what he was going to do next was probably the stupid thing he had ever done in his short life.

Sora dug his foot into the monster's feathers and pushed forward, carrying the scythe raised behind him ready to swing. The bird beast finally noticed the sudden movement on its back and turned its head to look. Before the creature had the chance to do anything, Sora swung his scythe around and stabbed the monster's right eye with the bladed tip.

The bird monster flailed with a broken shriek, spilling its black blood into the wind. Sora stumbled off the side of the bird's back, but thankfully the drop down to the island fragment wasn't too far and landed in the sand with a soft _thud_. Not a minute after, the bird monster collapsed into the sand only feet away from him. Sora just stared at the beast, almost disbelieving that he had managed to bring it down.

The bird wasn't dissolving like the dogs had; did that mean it wasn't dead yet? If that were the case, he needed to finish it quick before it got back up. Sora cautiously moved up to his feet as if afraid that the bird would suddenly wake up and start attack before picking up the red scythe. He dragged himself over until he was standing directly in front of it. The spiky-haired warrior raised the scythe ready to deliver the final strike when a massive gust of wind blew by, splashing him in the face with a cloud of sand.

Sora fell on his behind, spitting out the grainy dust that had gotten in his mouth. He did a double take and soon understood that the wind wasn't just getting faster, it was creating funnel…leading into the heart of the dark nova. Sora started to feel himself lift off the ground and stabbed his scythe into the ground, his hands tightening on the handle like a vice. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the bird monster was being lifted up into the vortex, disappearing into the darkness above. Sora couldn't say he felt sorry for it.

The vortex was pulling harder and harder, and with each moment that passed, Sora feared his hands would slip and he would be hurtled into the darkness. But his fears were unfounded. The scythe lost its hold long before he did.

Sora flailed his arms as if try to swim away, though even then he knew it was pointless. The darkness had caught him; he could feel the many claws of the dark monsters slithered over every part of his body. His breath left his lungs; the warmth had faded from his chest; a flood of hopelessness filled his every thoughts. The last thing he could see before the darkness consumed him entirely was the last piece of his home being broken to dust.

And then…nothing….

* * *

 **With this, we are finally ready to put the prologue behind us and get into the real meat of the story. I'm still feeling I could have done a better job with the fight scene, I'm sure, but at this early in the game, Sora isn't strong enough to fight a Nevermore on his own and he's barely learning the mechanics of Crescent Rose, so it was difficult to hold him back while trying to make it sound good. Hopefully this will get better later on.**

 **Next chapter is finally Traverse Town, where a few surprise guests will be showing up. Until next time, please read and review.**


	5. The New Kid in Town, Part 1

**Chapter Four: The New Kid in Town, Part 1**

Since they first arrived in the new world, the first thing Sun had suggested was searching for new clothing to disguise themselves – their Atlesian soldier uniforms would have stood out too much and bring up a lot of questions.

Sun bought himself a short-sleeved black jacket with a white fur color comfortably around the neck and a golden monkey emblem on the back; he naturally forgoes the shirt to show off his eight-pack abs. He kept the red wrist bracers from his younger days as a Hunter, black cargo pants to carry his weapons, and black-and-yellow sneakers. His most valuable possession, however, was the golden locket hanging around his neck, for inside this piece of metal jewelry was a constant reminder of why he had taken this mission.

Penny had been a lot harder to find clothing for since she had the fashion sense of a blind circus clown. With Sun's help, Penny could now walk around town in a black jacket with neon-green lines running down the sleeves with her personal symbol glowing on the back. Her pants were made from a similar design, being held up by suspenders, black combat boots, and a white undershirt with a ruffled collar. Naturally, the metal pack that contained her weapons stayed, but Sun could not convince her to part with the bright pink bow, even though it clashed with everything. Penny just smiled the entire time.

Once they finished paying for their new wardrobe, they decided to begin their search through the town square, which was surprisingly spare considering the number of people that lived there. They were halfway across the square when Penny suddenly looked up, making a noise of surprise. Sun turned back to her curiously.

"What is it?" asked Sun.

"Look, a star's going out!" said Penny, pointing directly above.

It was at the moment when she said it that one of the biggest and brightest points in the sea of lights suddenly dimmed and vanished completely into the darkness.

"That's the third one since we arrived here," said Sun, biting his lip in frustration. "C'mon, we need to find this 'mutual acquaintance' person. Oum, I wish that letter had given us more details about what we're supposed to be looking for."

"They said we'll know him when we see him," said Penny optimistically. "Maybe it's someone we know."

"I hope so," mumbled Sun

* * *

 **ll ^ ll ^ ll ^ ll ^  
V ll V ll V ll V ll  
=TRAVERSE TOWN =  
^ ll ^ ll ^ ll ^ ll  
ll V ll V ll V ll V**

* * *

Sun and Penny walked up the small stairway, past the large shop called From Dust Till Dawn; for some reason, the name struck something familiar in both of them. As they were walking by, a small black and white dog slipped through their legs and raced into the alleyway on the opposite side. Sun ignored it for the most part, but Penny stared at the direction for a long moment, titling her head.

"Uh, Sun," said Penny. "I think it would be best if we – "

"Why don't you let me do the thinking, okay, Penny?" said Sun, dismissing her instantly.

"Whatever you say, Sun," Penny submitted.

Penny stared down the path the dog had run down a little longer before shrugging her shoulders and following Sun in the other direction. What neither of them realized was that just down the alleyway, behind a stack of crates and barrels, Sora lied unconscious against the alley wall. The little dog sniffed Sora, his tail wagging excitedly as if recognizing him. He licked widely across the spiky-haired boy's face, causing him to stir. As Sora slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the tiny animal panting eagerly in his face.

"What a dream," mumbled Sora, slowly closing his eyes again. The dog did not appreciate the sentiment and headbutted him, making Sora wide awake. "Whoa! This isn't a dream!"

Pushing the tiny animal off of him, Sora slowly stood up, his legs a little wobbly from the lack of use. He heard a soft clatter and looked down. The scythe weapon was in its folded form, which was a very strong indicator that his fight with the giant bird thing wasn't a part of some grand delusion. Picking the weapon up off the ground, Sora took a good look around the area, his mouth open in awe. As opposed to the wooden houses on the islands, the entire area seemed to be made of brick and cement – a pair that was rarely found on his home.

"Where am I?" asked Sora. "Oh, boy."

The tiny dog yipped trying to get Sora's attention. The Spiky-haired boy kneeled down to its level, raising a brow in curiosity. It wasn't that there were no dogs on the islands; it was that Sora had never seen this type of breed before. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the dog was wearing a collar. That must mean it has an owner, right? Sora reached for the tag, eying the name etched in the metal.

"Zwei," Sora read aloud. "Okay, Zwei, do you know where we are?"

Zwei the dog yipped again, his ears standing in attention, before he spun around and took off down the alley again.

"Hey!" Sora called, chasing after him.

He followed the Zwei around the corner out into the open, where he immediately skidded to a halt, mouth dropping almost comically. This place was nothing like the islands. Whereas his home was open and widely spaced with large hills of grass and sand, this new world was very closed in by walls of stone, crooked lampposts scattered everywhere to brighten the endless night, and bundles of shops packed together; most of the signs were written in languages he couldn't even read.

Sora took a hesitant few steps forward, stopping in front of the From Dust Till Dawn shop, pinching himself on the cheek to check if this was reality. It really hurt, but the town wasn't going away. This was real.

"This is totally weird," said Sora. "I'm in another world! Oh man, I can't believe it! But then…what happened to all those monsters I just saw? That weird bird thing that was trying to eat me? Are they still around somewhere or…." His muttering started to trail off. He looked down at the folded scythe in his hand, lifting it up for a better look. "Where did this thing come from, anyway? I'm grateful to whoever left it for me to find- I would be totally dead without it – but…why me? I can't even understand how this thing works…. Is there some kind of button or…."

As his hands roamed the scythe's body, his finger once again accidentally triggered a mechanism without his consent. Sora yelped aloud as the weapon unfolded into its full scythe form…and the blade's head smashed straight through the window of the From Dust Till Dawn shop.

"Hey!" shouted the shop owner inside.

"Uh oh!" said Sora panicked

The shop doors flew open and the owner ran outside with an annoyed scowl on his face. He had a thin face with sharp pink eyes behind a pair of thin-rimmed glasses; his inky-black hair touched past his shoulder into a lengthy braid with a single stripe of pink accenting it. He wore a dark-green, diagonally-buttoned, sleeveless tailcoat with a pink flower printed on the left side of his chest. Golden cuffs were tight around his wrists, his pants a pristine shade of white, and his shoes were a nicely polished black. All in all, he cleaned up very well.

The shop owner scowled, turning toward the person who smashed through his shop window with every intention of scolding him. His motivation was lost, however, when he saw the boy. Sora had tried running away like any boy his age would have done, but his new scythe was stuck inside the broken window; the blade was lodged into one side while the hook was wedge into the other. Sora lifted his foot against the shop wall and tried pulling with all his might, but the weapon wouldn't budge. The shop owner sweat dropped.

"Uh…do you need some help?" asked the shop owner, scratching his head with a small frown.

"Uh…no, no, I've totally got this under control," said Sora, waving him off while laughing nervously. "This thing is just…temperamental. Yeah, that's it, temperamental. Just – need – to – Gah! Why won't this thing come out?" he added, tugging at the scythe again.

The shop owner sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. So while the spiky-haired boy fruitlessly tried pulling the scythe out of the window, the shop owner moved in closer, leaning over the weapon with a critical eye. He surveyed the base of the scythe until his gaze landed on a small, almost unnoticeable switch situated next to the cartridge loadout. The shop owner hit the switch and in a flash the scythe folded back into its inactive form. Unfortunately for Sora, who was still pulling at the time, the sudden shift caused him to fall back and hit the street with the back of his head. The islander grimace, rubbing the sore spot.

"Ow," moaned Sora.

"Sorry, I suppose I should have warned you," said the shop owner, offering his hand. "My name is Lie Ren, but everyone calls me Ren."

"Sora," he answered shortly. "Um…if you don't mind me asking, Ren, do you know where we are."

"I'm guessing this is the first time you've ever been to another world," said Ren; Sora nodded. "This is Traverse Town; it's a type of collaboration made from the remnants of world that don't exist anymore. Usually survivors from dead worlds usually end up in one of two places: here or Twilight Town. Looks like you end got the short end of the straw – Traverse Town isn't actually a tourist attraction kind of place."

"I don't know," said Sora, staring around wide eyed. "I think it's kinda cool."

"I suppose as far as first worlds go, it's all right," said Ren, his eyes wandering to the folded scythe in Sora's hands. "Judging by the way you somehow managed to smash through my window and get stuck, I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say you don't know how to use that weapon."

"Honestly…no," said Sora shyly. "I don't even know how I got it in the first place. It literally just fell in my lap."

"Hmm…," Ren hummed thoughtfully. "Bring it inside; I'll have a look at it."

"Really?" asked Sora cheerfully. "So you're not mad about the window."

"Oh, I'm plenty mad about the window," said Ren; Sora winced. "But I'm also very curious. Come on in so I can have a closer look at it."

Both of them stepped inside the shop and Sora stopped for a moment at the entrance, taking a good look around the store. There were over dozens of tubes attached to the walls, each of them filled to the brim with a powdery substance that came in every color of the rainbow; from fiery red, to watery blue, to leafy green, to snowy white. There were also several display counters with an assortment of jewel-like items behind the protective glass. Sora leaned in close to one of the display cases, fascinated by a particularly large red crystal. It looked so much more than a fancy piece of jewelry; he could literally feel the energy seeping through the glass.

"This is your first time seeing Dust, right?" asked Ren, taking his place behind the counter.

"You mean that stuff that gets on your things when you leave it too long?" asked Sora confused.

"Not exactly," said Ren patiently. "Dust is a type of energy that can be used for a variety of purposes. Back on Remnant – the world I originally come from – Dust was used as fuel to power weapons and gave them unique attributes such as fire, lighting, gravity, and such. But after my world was lost, the Dust started losing their power since they can't be away from the original world for lengthy periods of time. Luckily, an Atlesian scientist named Polendina created a facsimile that gives off the same properties as Dust that won't lose strength when they away from worlds."

"So they're like magic," said Sora in awe.

"More science than magic, but you have the right idea," said Ren, slapping his hand on the counter. "Now, let me have a look at that weapon of yours."

Sora set the scythe weapon on the counter and Ren pulled out a magnifying glass from underneath, leaning in close to evaluate the item. For what seemed like an eternity – in Sora's mind – the Dust Shop owner ran his eye up and down the body of the scythe nearly a dozen times, occasionally making soft comments like "Yes", or "Just as I thought", and one time he even said "Never thought I would get the chance to see this again". The good part about the long observation was that Sora was able to learn how the transformation sequences worked by watching Red. By tapping the switch on the right of the body, the weapon could shift into Gun Mode, while the switch on the left of the body would unfold it to full Scythe Mode. It was a very simple process, but Sora made sure to commit it to memory

Finally, Ren put down the magnifying glass and folded the scythe to its inactive form.

"You've made an incredible find," said Ren, sounding very impressed. "What you have right here is an HCSS – a High-Caliber Snipe-Scythe. It's a very rare weapon type considering that the scythe is the most dangerous an unpredictable weapon there is; combine it with a military grade sniper rifle and you have a recipe for potential disaster. Only one was ever created, so I thought it was a strange coincidence. But then I saw this marking" – he pointed to the rose symbol etched in the body – "and I knew immediately what I was looking at. Kid…this is the weapon wielded by Ruby Rose."

"Who's Ruby Rose?" asked Sora, feeling he should be more impressed than he was.

"She was a legendary hero from my world," said Ren reminiscently. "Everyone from Remnant knows of the story of the silver-eyed girl draped in red; how the Grimm trembled at the sight of her and would slay them in a flash with her scythe. Some people actually started calling her the Grimm Reaper. And then, one day…she just vanished."

"Vanished?" Sora repeated.

"Yeah," said Ren solemnly. "One day she and her team left for a mission…and they never came back. Not long after, the Grimm began to overrun Remnant and our world was destroyed. The lucky ones managed to make it to Traverse Town. After hear no word from them in over ten years, you can imagine my surprise when you suddenly show up with Ruby's scythe. And you said this just fell into your lap?" he added, staring up at Sora suspiciously.

"All I know is that I was being attacked by some monsters," said Sora, "and then this thing just fell right in front of me. I swear, I had no idea it was important or anything."

"Hmm, right," said Ren in a low voice, removing the cartridge system from the scythe's underside. "For something that hasn't been used in over ten years, there are certainly a number of bullets left in their casings; you've got roughly half a pack inside. I would ask if you wanted a refill, but I doubt you have the Lien to pay for it."

"I don't even know what that means," said Sora.

"I figured as much," aid Ren, passing the red scythe back to its new owner. "Well, as long as you're in Traverse Town, you might as well try to find a place to stay for the next couple of days before you work out your money situation. There's a hotel in the Second District that offers a two day free service to all newcomers to Traverse Town – that should give you enough time to buckle down and figure out what you want to do. Just take the gate behind the shop; you'll find what you're looking for."

"Okay, thanks," said Sora. "I guess I should really start looking for Riku and Kairi; maybe they made it off the island like I did."

"Well, good luck with whatever you do," said Ren. "If you have any more questions, or run into any trouble, feel free to stop by. My door is always open."

Feeling extremely grateful to the man, Sora walked out of the Dust Shop giving a friendly wave to its own, which he returned in kind. But the moment the door closed behind Sora, Ren's kind grin turned into a deep frown. He pulled out a device from his pocket and pressed it against his ear, waiting for the person on the other side to pick up.

"Hey, it's me," said Ren when the person finally answered. "You're not gonna believe what just showed up in my store."

* * *

Following up on Ren's suggestion, Sora walked into the Traverse Town's Second District, which was surprisingly lack more people than the first. It seemed really odd. The Second District was clearly the commercial area of Traverse Town: a dozen different shops lined up in a row to his right, the wide hotel that Ren told him on his left, the gorgeous cascading fountain, in the center, and the tall clock tower looming over the district. Sora could just imagine crowds of people running around the area, making loud noises and rushing back and forth. So why was it so deserted?

"Hello!" Sora called. "Is anyone here?"

"HELP! HELP!"

Sora jumped; he hadn't expected anyone to answer so quickly. He barely looked over in time to see one of the town residents – at least he assumed they were; you could never tell by the way he was so stupidly dressed in colonial cloths. The man somehow managed to trip over his own feet while running away, flopping onto his back with a look of fear on his face. Before Sora could call out to him, a strange light rippled from his chest and an orb of blue, swirling energy floated out and disappeared into the night sky. The man's body suddenly melted into a pool of black liquid, and then just as quickly rose into a new shape.

The creature that stood not several feet from Sora was oddly small, at least a head shorter than him, but still human shaped to say the least. The monster was strangely garbed in a thin armor seemingly made from the same material as their masks, almost like bone. Upon closer inspection, Sora also noticed a symbol on this monster's chest that he had never noticed on the others. At first glance, it looked like a black colored flame, but to Sora it also resembled a heart in some ways. Weird…

Before Sora could ponder any further, the new monster vanished into the same darkness it came from. Not even a few seconds after it left, the dog creatures he faced in the past suddenly emerged from the ground, forming a circle around him. Sora flipped the switch on his newly acquired weapon, bringing it to full Scythe Mode.

"You're those creatures from the island," said Sora. "What'd you do with Riku and Kairi?"

The dog monsters responded with a low growl and a menacing bark; that wasn't very helpful.

The canine beast in front leapt at Sora with its fangs wide to bite, but Sora deflected the blow by using the body of his scythe as a shield. Unfortunately, the quick action momentarily caused him to lose balance and dropped the scythe's heavy head on the ground just as another dog monster took a bite out of his leg. Sora winced, but the pain was only momentary; for some reason, he seemed to be healing a lot faster than normal. The spiky-haired boy kicked the animal off of him, knocking it on its back, and then swung his scythe in a high arc before bringing it down to piercing it through the chest. The monster dissolved into a black mist instantly.

"All right, I got one!" Sora cheered.

Sora's jubilation was short-lived, however. The pack of shadow monsters were starting to come together again, even more agitated now than they were two minutes ago. The spiky-haired fight lifted his scythe…or at least he tried to; when he tried to tug at the weapon, he realized the thing wouldn't budge. It appeared that his last attack had stabbed the scythe's blade into two feet on concrete, wedging it into place. So while Sora tried prying his weapon out of the ground, the monster pack saw the opportunity presented to them and charged together.

A thrill of panic rising in his chest, Sora quickly thought up what was probably the bravest and stupidest idea he ever came up with. Jumping over the first wave of monsters nipping at his ankles, Sora pressed himself against the body of the scythe, hand immediately going for the trigger mechanism. Just as the dark beasts were starting to swarm around him, Sora pulled the trigger and a sharp gunshot cracked through the nearly silent district. The scythe's recoil proved to be enough to rip the blade out of the concrete while also eradicating a good number of the dog beasts. On the negative side, Sora was sent flying across the district until he smacked into the hotel sign, falling flat on his back when he hit the street.

Sora groaned painful; his back was killing him. After picking up himself and his scythe, he looked across the area and soon realized that the dark monsters were quickly closing the distance again – man, they were speedy little devils!

"They just keep coming!" said Sora, grimacing at his scythe. "And I still have no idea how to use this thing right…. I need to keep moving. Maybe I can escape through here."

Sora threw open the door to the hotel and ducked inside. Just a few seconds later, the dog monsters headbutted their way through the door and chased him inside. And as the hotel doors slammed shut into their proper place, the gate doors to the First District open and Sun and Penny walked inside the area. Sun frowned with his hands on his hips and his tail scratching his head while Penny held her hand above her eyes trying to look for something.

"It doesn't look like he's here," said Penny.

"Doesn't look like anyone's here," said Sun, doing a quick survey of the area. "This whole place is like a ghost town. Seriously, where'd everyone go?"

"Perhaps it would be best to search the hotel," Penny suggested. "Logically speak, that would be the most likely place to find people.

"Well, it's better than waiting around out here," Sun shrugged.

With a plan in mind, the duo from Atlas crossed the district toward the wide hotel area. Sun, ever the gentleman, opened the door for Penny to enter first before following behind. But right at the very second when the door shut behind them, the door on the opposite side of the hotel flew open and two of the dark monsters flew out into the open before they dissolved into mist. Sora rolled out after them and took off up the small staircase with the rest of the hound pack tailing him from behind. The spiky-haired fighter turned to face them halfway up the steps, his weapon in Gun Mode, and fired off two shots. Both shots hit their targets between the eyes.

"Yeah, this gun is way easier than a scythe," said Sora, shooting down another dog beast. "Don't know why I don't use it all the time."

Sora pulled back the bolt action handle to load another bullet when he heard an ominous growl coming from behind. He peeked over his right short and then quickly ducked down seconds before another dark animal went flying over his head. It wasn't the only one; another three demon dogs were emerging from the darkness and slowly pacing towards him. These monsters had him surrounded on both sides. Fortunately, his back was against the door to the clock tower as they made their approach. He reached behind and turned the handle, falling backwards into the tower with the monsters following thereafter.

And just seconds later, Sun and Penny emerged from the hotel.

"Ugh, where is he?" said Sun impatiently.

"Old acquaintance, where are you?" shouted Penny.

"In seriously doubt anyone is gonna answer to 'old acquaintance'," said Sun. "Man, this is getting us nowhere, but we gotta keep looking.

"Why don't we search that huge clock tower," Penny suggested, point in the direction. "From that height, we would be able to see the entire district."

"About as good a plan as any," said Sun.

And so the dynamic duo casually made their way over to the clock tower, pulled the door open, and then stepped inside. And, as predictable as it may seem, just a mere second before they entered, Sora backed his way out of the tower, his weapon in full Scythe Mode again. Since the area he stepped in was too enclosed to swing the scythe around, he made due with trying to shove the dog monsters back with the head. It looked ridiculous, Sora knew, but he was quite frankly running out of options – and bullets.

"This is nuts; these things are everywhere," said Sora, kicking back one of the monsters that slipped underneath his scythe. "If I stay here any longer, these things are gonna turn me into dog food…. I need to get back to Ren's shop. He'll know what to do."

Sora pulled the bolt action handle of the scythe and pulled the trigger – another bullet lost; another half-dozen monsters killed in a single shot. The pack of dark hounds scattered at the crack of the gunshot, granting Sora the perfect opportunity to jump over the ledge into the main square. He used the Scythe to cushion his landing, flipped the weapon onto his shoulder once his feet touched ground, and took off across the district. By the time the demon dogs realized where he had gone, Sora was already climbing the stairs to the upper level and barreling his way through the doors to the First District. The creatures growled, angry at the loss of their prey, and melted into the shadows.

And, as usual, Sun and Penny walked out of the clock tower too later to see anything.

"He's not here either," said Sun, sounding frustrated. "This is just getting ridiculous."

"Do you ever get the feeling we are always coming comedically close to finding what we are looking for but never find it in time?" asked Penny curiously.

"See, that's why I said to leave the thinking to me," said Sun.

"I see your point," Penny nodded in agreement.

* * *

Sora slammed the district doors behind him, letting out a huge sigh of relief, leaning forward with one hand on his knee. This whole town is insane, Sora thought. How could the people live here knowing that those…creatures were running around in the middle of the night, hunting down anyone dumb enough to be caught out alone? Ren had certainly never mentioned it to him when they last talked. He was going to have a few words with that guy.

As he walked around the back of the Dust Shop and came into full view of the district square, he suddenly stopped, noticing something amiss. There hadn't been a whole lot of people when Sora last checked – maybe four to five at the most – but now the entire district was completely empty. Sora ran toward Ren's Dust Shop to see if he was all right, but the doors were suddenly locked. He pressed his face against the glass for a better look, but he couldn't see anyone inside. Now Sora was worried.

"Hello? Anyone?" Sora shouted across the district. "Is there anyone still around? Those…things aren't around, are they?"

"They're always around," aid a newer, more masculine voice. "They'll come at you out of nowhere. No matter how far you run, no matter how hard you try to hide, you can't escape them forever."

"Huh, who are you?" shouted Sora surprisingly, spinning around with scythe in hand.

Sora's grip on his weapon tightened with anxiety as a suspicious man suddenly appeared around the corner of the shop, walking casually with his hands in his pockets. He was a lot taller than Sora – almost twice his size – and quite muscular with a mess of dirty blonde hair that touched his shoulders. He wore a simple black hoodie with two yellow arcing lines on the right side, a pair of simple navy jeans, two intersecting brown leather belts, and a pair of white steel bracers. Sora instinctive took notice of the sword strapped to his waist – he was a fighter just like him.

"They'll keep coming after you," said the stranger, "especially know that you are holding that weapon in your hands. They recognize it, they fear it, and they despise it. But why?" he added, shaking his head with his fingers resting on his forehead. "I can't for the life of me understand why you would be the one to find Crescent Rose."

"Crescent Rose?" asked Sora, looking down at his scythe. "Is that what it's called?"

"You don't even know her name?" said the strange, sounding both shocked and disgusted. "That tears it; give me that scythe right now, amateur hour."

"What?" said Sora, glaring. "There's no way you're getting this!"

The man frowned, not at all happy with his answer. As Sora slowly backed away from him, the strange reached down and unlatched the scabbard from his belt, withdrawing the polished silver blade inside. With a flick of his wrist, the scabbard expanded into a wide shield, baring the yellow arcing lines on its surface.

"All right, then have it your way," said the stranger dangerously.

The unknown knight casually walked across the street towards Sora, who took a pace back for every one the man took. Sora didn't like the look in his eye. He was used to Riku cool smirk, or Tidus's overconfident grin, but this man, his expression was completely blank. It was like he had drained himself of all feeling; it was unnerving.

As the spiky-haired fighter tried to keep his distance between himself and the stranger, he hadn't realized that he was walking backwards into the stairway until his left foot slipped over. Sora panicked and flailed his arm to straighten himself, but in the split second that he had looked away from his enemy, the blonde knight had crossed the distance between them. Rather than attacking the boy, the strange seemed to purposely stab the scythe, sending them both flying down the stairway into the open square below. Sora hit the ground on his stomach near the post box while his weapon clattered a good distance away near the café tables.

The blonde stranger jumped down from the top of the stairs, leering down at Sora for a short moment before turning toward the scythe. When he stopped and bended down to pick it up, Sora quickly scrambled to his feet and made a dash for his back. The blonde knight could hear the boy's loud footsteps closing in on him and let out an exasperated sigh. He swung his sword around at the boy, planning only to knock him out with the pommel, but was shocked to realize that the spiky-haired kid had slid underneath his swing and through his open legs. Sora swiftly snatched up his scythe, shifted it to Gun Mode, and then spun around on the ground toward the strange.

"Eat this!" shouted Sora.

 _ **BANG!**_

The bullet hit the man square in the chest…then clattered uselessly on the ground.

Sora's eyes became wide as dinner plates and he was sure his jaw had broken through the street. The man's body was covered in a thin layer of white energy that shined brilliantly one moment, then faded the next. The stranger didn't wait for Sora to collect himself; he pressed his foot down on the boy's chest and pinned him to the ground.

"But – I – you – how – ?" Sora sputtered.

"You never heard of aura before, have you?" said the stranger, ripping the weapon out of his hands. "Another good reason why you can't be trusted with this. It's way too dangerous for an inexperienced kid like you. Listen, I'm not trying to be the bad guy here, but I can't in good conscience let you run around swinging this weapons around when you clearly don't understand the first thing about it. Take my advice, kid: go home. It'll be better for you if you just stay out of the way."

The blonde knight took his foot off Sora's chest, letting him sit up and watch the man walk away with his new weapon. Sora felt anger starting to bubble up inside him. Riku occasionally taunted him during their competitions, but that was just in good fun. This guy was just coming completely out of nowhere, writing him off like some helpless child that needs to be babysat. Worst yet, he called him a complete amateur that had no idea how to use his weapon – which was true, but it was still insulting.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Sora kicked up to his feet and ran full sprint at the blonde stranger. He must not have expected him to retaliate at this stage, but Sora had easily managed to climb on top of his back like the wild monkeys from his island. The blonde knight wanted to throw the boy off his back, but both his hands his filled with both his sword and the sniper-scythe. And then, to the stranger's great alarm and disgust, Sora opened his mouth and bit down on his right ear. The strange yelled and hastened to cover the sore wound, unintentionally dropping both of his weapons. Sora instantly jumped off the stranger's back and grabbed both the sword and the gun.

"You bit my ear!" yelled the stranger incredulously. "What kind of sick freak does that?"

"I'm not gonna let you take this scythe away from me," said Sora with determination. "I might not know how to use it well yet, and you're right about me not having a whole lot of experience, but it's the only clue I have to finding my friends. I need it."

"Well, that's something we have in common," said the strange; Sora tilted his head curiously. "That scythe is also the only clue I have to finding a friend I lost a long time ago. I've been hunting it down for over a decade; you can understand why I would be desperate to have it."

"Then why don't we work together?" Sora offered. "We could figure this out, find all of our friends as a team."

"Heh, you sound almost like her," said the stranger with a sharp chuckle. "But life ain't that easy, kid. One way or another, I'm taking that scythe."

Sora grimaced. He tried reasoning with the man, but he wasn't backing down from this. It would seem that he had no alternative but to force the strange to submit.

The spiky-haired fight charged across the square with a fierce – at least in his mind – battle cry and opened up with a quick volley of bullets from his sniper-scythe. The strange swiftly ducked behind his shield, which effortlessly deflected the shots and sent them scattering around the area. Once the distance between them had minimized, Sora swiped the stranger's sword in a high arc above his head. The blonde knight's hand suddenly shot out, stopping the blade in his open palms without a sliver of damage. Sora would have been impressed under different circumstances. Sora flipped the switch on the other weapon to extend it to its full scythe form before dropping down on top of the stranger's head again. But just like last time, the man caught the weapon by the neck of the blade, keeping Sora's hand locked in place.

"You can't just swing a scythe around as you please," said the stranger. "A scythe that big and heavy with have no strength behind it without the momentum to carry it. This is one of the most basic lessons you can learn. How have you managed to survive this long."

"I don't need a lecture from you," growled Sora. "I have everything under control."

"Oh really?" said the stranger, narrowing his eyes. "Is that why you were running away from those creatures earlier? Because you have everything 'under control'? Face it, kid, you were clueless then, and you're just as clueless now!"

The blonde knight suddenly gained and extra boost of strength and throw his arms out, making Sora unwillingly release his hold on the weapons and sending them flying to opposite sides of the square. Before Sora could react to anything, the strange drilled his fist into the spiky-haired boy's stomach, causing him to double over in pain, before nailing him across the face with a clean right hook. The boy stumbled into one of the crooked lampposts, his vision slowly starting to blur; this guy could really pack a punch.

In the distance, he could barely see a blob of red and black, and whatever rational part of his brain was still left function told him it was his sniper-scythe. Sora stumbled groggily toward the misshapen blob with his outstretch to reach, but his vision was suddenly overtaken by a mass of black and yellow. A sudden shockwave of pain started from the bottom of his chin and spread to the rest of his body; he felt lighter than air and knew that his feet were no longer touching the ground. The last thing he saw before his body became aware of the pain that racked his back upon landing and his vision faded into black was the single bright star shining in the distance before it too faded away.

The strange sighed, rubbing his knuckles. He hated having to resort to physical violence when he would much rather use his sword, but time wasn't a luxury he could afford at the moment. Once folding down his shield and replacing his sword in its scabbard, the blonde knight made his way over to the snipe-scythe, gently picking up it as if it were made of glass. It was incredible…it was exactly the same as he remembered it….

"Hey, you found it! Nice, going, Jaune!"

The blonde knight known as Jaune folded the scythe under his arm, turning to the new bubbly voice that arrived around the corner. She was a little shorter than him, but that never put her down, especially since her muscles were more toned than his. Her bright orange hair started as a bob, but expanded into two long locks that trailed behind her. Her clothing consisted of a white sleeveless top with a heart-shape cutout above her breast, thin black spandex shorts, white feathery sleeves that ended at her elbow with a matching pair of pink ones that covered below her kneecaps, hot-pink fingerless gloves, white boots with pink laces, and a metal heart-shaped belt buckle.

The new women broke out in a wide, mischievous grin as she skipped past her friend and stared down at the spiky-haired boy, poking him cheek like he was something fascinating.

"You didn't beat him up too bad, did ya, Jaune?" asked the woman.

"I went easy on him," said Jaune. "Still…if this is the best he can do, it's worse than we thought. A lot worse."

* * *

But while Sora was having his own difficulties on one world, Riku was soon finding himself on a world filled with his own.

He didn't know how long he had been asleep – or if he had been asleep at all. The last thing he remembered was being on the island when the door opened and their old home was taken by the darkness. He remembered seeing Sora there, reaching out to him. But he never made it; the darkness had separated them. And now here he was, waking up in some strange new world without his friends. Figures.

As Riku's eyes fluttered open, the first thing he realized was that he was cold. He slowly stood up, rubbing his bare arms with his hands as he took a look around his new environment. It looked like he landed in a forest, but ground was completely buried in white, cold powder and every tree was without a single leaf. Riku had never seen anything like it before – the Islands were a twenty-four-seven tropical climate; they never had winter before.

"Where…am I…?" asked Riku, shivering. "Hello! Can anyone hear me?"

While Riku seemed perturbed by this new world, he remained blissfully unaware of his watcher hiding in the shadows on the dead pines, their deathly-black robe billowing in the winter winds.

* * *

 **As I'm sure most have you have guess, Team JNPR is taking the place of the Final Fantasy cast in Traverse Town. I figured who better to play the role than Team RWBY's closest friends. Speaking of Team RWBY, this chapter has finally gotten into a little bit of background behind the characters and their strange history that connects with this story. I'm sure most of you have at least figured out what happened to three out of four of them, but you never know, I might just throw in a curveball just to mess with ya.**

 **You also may have noticed that I completely skipped the whole Dalmatian thing they had in the original game. I just couldn't think of a good reason for it to happen, nor for it to make sense. If I did add it in, the most it would be is just a spare sentence or two saying they were found, and everyone must agree that would be a waste of time.**

 **Next chapter is finally when Team (*mumble, mumble*) comes together and we get a more in-depth discussion on the driving force of the story. So until next time, please, read and review.**


	6. The New Kid in Town, Part 2

**Chapter Five: The New Kid in Town, Part 2**

They couldn't quite figure how or why they stumbled into the back alley behind the hotel, but Sun and Penny decided not to question it; they already had a long night without giving themselves another headache. And supposedly an out-of-the-way abandoned alley, it was pretty nice. Aside from the stacks of boxes and barrels probably left by the hotel staff, bright colorful lights decorated the walls as well as a few banners that advertised various place. There was also a small water stream on the left side of the alley – Sun and Penny didn't know what the point of it was, but it looked nice. But even with a bright-looking environment, there wasn't anything taking away from the fact that the entire area was abandoned, which Penny noted aloud:

"We haven't seen a single person since we arrived. It's kinda spooky!"

"Relax, tin lady," said Sun with a hint of swagger. "Good 'ol Sun will protect ya. I'm not scared of any – "

But without either of them noticing, a silent figure stepped into the alleyway and walked up to them, tapping Sun on the shoulder. Almost immediately, the monkey Faunus jumped high into the air – he must have one up eight feet by Penny's estimation – and fell down into the robot girl's open around. Penny grinned in a smug way that didn't go unmissed by Sun.

"Not scared, huh?" said Penny teasingly.

"Shut up," Sun grimaced, his face turning red with embarrassment.

"Excuse me," said a soft, feminine voice from behind them. "Did General Schnee send you two?"

Penny turned around – Sun still swinging in her arms – to face the woman. She was very lovely by most standards; a waterfall of vivid-red hair that cascaded over her shoulders and touched past her hips with the brightest shade of green eyes one could imagine. The simplicity of her clothing also served well to compliment her: a simple white dress shirt that ended at the elbows, half-a-dozen bronze bangles on each wrist, a long wine-colored skirt, a bronze hairband, ad a necklace with the impression of a spear on it.

One look at the stranger, Penny smiled widely, dropped Sun on the ground ("Hey!" yelled Sun), and ran over to hug the woman. The stranger laughed and returned the embrace, smiling at Penny when the two of them separated.

"Salutations, Pyrrha Nikos!" said Penny happily. "Glad to see you are no longer deceased. I had heard rumors of your miraculous return, but I had never had the chance to confirm them."

"Well, I'm glad to see that you are safe as well, Penny," said Pyrrha before turning to Sun. "And I am happy to see you too, Sun. It has been much too long since we all met."

"I'm happy to see you again too, Pyrrha," said Sun, grinning. "You're looking pretty good for someone who came back from the dead."

"Thanks…I think," said Pyrrha uncertainly. "Our contacts said that the General of Atlas was sending two of her best men to Traverse Town, but I hadn't realized it would be you two. It's funny how things work out that way."

"Ooh, so you're the mutual acquaintance we were sent to find?" asked Penny.

"In a matter of speaking, but this is not the best place to talk about it," said Pyrrha, staring worriedly up and down the alley. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but there have been Grimm slowly infesting the Second District. Jaune and Nora have been doing their best to get rid of them, but their numbers keep growing."

"The Grimm are here?" asked Sun, sounding shocked. "On another world?"

"Yes, and it would be best if we take this conversation to safe quarters," said Pyrrha. "I have a room in the hotel. It'll be safer in there."

The redheaded woman turned on her heel and raced down the alley with two soldiers from Atlas following close behind her.

* * *

"Come on, lazy bum, wake up!"

His head was throbbing like a jackhammer was chipping away at his skull, and the loud, upbeat voice screaming in his ear was not helping things.

Sora's eyes slowly opened; he winced from the bright lights hanging overhead and slapped his hand over to cover them. With his hand still on his head, the spiky-haired boy sat up in his bed – which he only now realized he had been laying on – carefully pulled his hand away, and blinked as his vision returned to him. He was in a room he wasn't familiar with; a lot of mix-and-match patterned from the walls, ceiling, and carpet that did not coordinate with each other well. The light was coming from the overhead lantern, and directly below it was a tea set that looked freshly used. And on the opposite side of where Sora sat, he saw a door with a number on it – the same one he had seen when he was running through the hotel. At least he knew where he was now.

Sora leaned his head sideways and there, standing by his bedside, much to his relief and disbelief, was Kairi. She looked as happy and healthy as she always did, and not deathly pale like the last time they had seen each other.

"You okay?" Kairi asked kindly.

"I guess…," said Sora hesitantly.

"Those creatures that attacked you are after the scythe," said Kairi, sounding surprisingly knowledgeable. "They recognize it as a weapon that belonged Ruby, the original owner of the scythe. They fear Ruby and that's why they fear you. They want to gobble up your soul because of that."

"I'm just glad you're okay, Kairi," said Sora fondly.

"Kairi? Who's Kairi?" said Kairi, her voice suddenly becoming high and bubbly. "I'm the stupendous Nora Valkyrie!"

"Huh?" said Sora.

The spiky-haired boy blinked again and instead of seeing his childhood friend, he found an orange-haired woman leaning _reaaally_ close to him. Sora sputtered and yelled at the sudden shift in the scene and unconsciously fell backwards, dropping uncomfortably in the space between the bed and the wall. The stupendous Nora Valkyrie snorted as Sora pathetically crawled back up, head lowered in embarrassment.

"I think you might've overdone it, Jaune!" said Nora.

Sora looked up and followed her line of sight to the door connecting to the adjacent room. The blonde haired stranger that had kicked his butt earlier was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed moodily; whether he was trying to act cool or he was always like that, Sora couldn't see. And leaning against the wall next to his feet was –

"My scythe!" gasped Sora.

"Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off the monsters," said Nora, pacing around the room. "It turns out that's how they were tracking you."

"Not tracking you, specifically," said Jaune. "Those monsters instinctively memorize the scents of those who present the greatest threat to them, either to ambush or to run away. This scythe is drowning in Ruby's essence, so it was natural that they would pick up on it. Separating it from you was the only way to conceal your soul from them, but it won't work for long. By now, they've probably memorized your scent too.

"Still hard to believe that you of all people managed to find this scythe when we spent the last ten years hunting it down," he continued, picking up the scythe and throwing it to Sora. The spiky-haired boy fumbled with it, but managed to sling his arms around the weapon. "Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

"Why don't you start making sense!" demanded Sora. "What's going on around here?"

* * *

Directly next door, in the red Chinese-styled room, Pyrrha took a seat on the bed, facing Sun and Penny. Both friends looked extremely worried, and Pyrrha felt that they had a right to be; what was going to happen next wasn't going to be easy to explain.

"Okay, you know there are many other worlds out there besides Remnant and this town, right?" asked Pyrrha.

"Yeah," said Sun.

"But they're supposed to be a secret," Penny whispered, clapping her hands over her mouth as if she had spoken a terrible swear word.

"They've been secret because they've never been connected," said Pyrrha. "But because of the Grimm, everything changed."

* * *

"The Grimm?" asked Sora, not certain if he heard correctly.

"Those monsters that attacked you," said Nora, taking a seat on the bed with him. "You know, those dog things, remember?"

"Creatures without souls," said Jaune.

"The darkness in people – that's what attracts them," said Nora. "Anger, hate, sadness, jealousy, and other bad feelings. They eat 'em up like pancakes."

"And everyone feels darkness in them – it's as natural as breathing," said Jaune, looking down at Sora with a critical eye.

"Hey, have you ever heard of a group called Team RWBY?" asked Nora suddenly.

* * *

"Everyone knows about Team RWBY," said Sun. "They were one of the greatest teams in Remnant, until they took on a mission that they never came back from."

"We all knew them better because we were friends with Team RWBY," said Pyrrha. "After they disappeared, Jaune became desperate to find out what happened to them. In his search, he found out that Ruby and her team stumbled upon a secret concerning the Grimm. They began to study them and recorded all their findings into very detailed reports."

"That's amazing," said Penny impressively. "Can we see them?"

"Their pages are scattered everywhere when Remnant was destroyed," said Pyrrha, shaking her head sadly.

"Scattered?" repeated Sun disappointedly.

"To many worlds," said Pyrrha sadly.

"Then that means we have to find out where the missing reports went," said Penny determinedly. "If we can read those reports, we might find out what happened to Ruby and the others."

"Those were our thoughts exactly," said Pyrrha. "We were preparing to leave to search for the missing pages when we found something even more important."

"What'd you find?" asked Sun.

"Crescent Rose," said Pyrrha mysteriously.

* * *

"So its name is Crescent Rose," said Sora, running a hand along his newly re-christened weapon.

"Ruby named her that when she finished building it," said Nora, smiling widely. "Ruby loved her scythe so much, she called it her sweetheart. I'm not gonna lie, it was kinda creepy."

"Ruby went overboard when she designed it – a lot overboard," said Jaune. "It's not something a novice can just swing around without years of practice. You need to learn the mechanics inside and out, figure out what way to hold it, which technique is best suited for your type of fighting, and how to maximize its full strength. Time that you don't have a lot of."

"Well, I didn't ask for this," said Sora. "Like I told Ren, it literally fell in my lap."

"Someone obviously thought you were good enough to use it," said Nora. "Maybe they saw something in you they thought was special."

"Not after what I saw earlier," said Jaune dismissively.

"How did all this happen?" said Sora, speaking more to himself than them. "I remember being in my room…" – he gasped, jumping up to his feet – "Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? Riku…Kairi…."

"You know what?" said Jaune. "I really don't know."

Sora stared down at his feet, only consciously keeping his hands steady of Crescent Rose in fear of dropping the precious device. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. His home, his friends, his family; everything he knew and love was gone…. Everything except Riku and Kairi. He couldn't say for sure why, but he knew they were still out there, probably looking for him like he was. It was all he could think of to stop himself from having a total breakdown.

"So…now what do we do?" asked Sora hesitantly.

"Sooner or later, the Grimm will find you," said Jaune. "We need to teach you how to use Crescent Rose properly, but we're pressed for time so the best thing I can do is offer you two pieces of advice. First, Crescent Rose, as I'm sure you noticed, is a heavy weapon that limits a lot of movement in a fight. The best way to get around that is with the recoil from the sniper gun at the head. But I'm sure you figured that out already. Second, don't just go swinging it around like you did earlier tonight. Like I said, Crescent Rose is heavy and you can't put any cutting force behind it if you just swing without building it up. You need to gather momentum before you strike."

"Recoil and momentum; got it," repeated Sora.

"That's about as much as we're gonna be able to teach you here," said Jaune. "Nora, let's go join Pyrrha. She should be there by now with the other visitors."

"JAUNE!" yelled Nora, pointing into the corner.

Sora's heart skipped a beat by her sudden panic – she didn't seem like someone who got frightened so easily. Sora and Jaune turned heel toward the corner as the strange bone-armored soldier Grimm Sora had seen earlier that night smashed through the balcony door, leering at them with its blaring red eyes. The Soldier Grimm twisted its body at an odd angle and threw itself at Nora, but Jaune jumped in between and blocked the Grimm with his shield.

"Nora, get Pyrrha and run!" said Jaune.

Nora didn't argue; she rushed past Sora and flew through the red connecting door before the spiky-haired kid could utter a word.

While this was all happening, Pyrrha had the same idea to introduce Sun and Penny to the new scythe wielder. Sun, ever the gentleman that he was, was about to open the door for the ladies when it suddenly flew open and smashed him into the wall behind; Penny just stared in curiosity. Pyrrha barely let out a gasp as Nora burst through, stopped in front of her, and then suddenly picked up bridal style. The redheaded woman could only say her kidnapper's name before Nora kicked open the hotel door and disappeared into the main lobby.

Back in the other room, Jaune withdrew his sword from his shield and raised it threateningly to the Grimm while Sora shifted Crescent Rose into Gun Mode.

"Sora, let's go!" said Jaune.

The next moment, the Grimm was sent flying through the window; Sora and Jaune started giving chase over the balcony.

In the other room, Penny slowly shut the door and found her monkey tailed partner pressed into the wall, leaving a large indentation of his outline in the plaster.

"So…much…hurt…," Sun moaned.

* * *

Sora landed on ground level in the alley behind the hotel as Jaune ran one of the Soldiers through with his sword, ripping it from the evaporating monster's chest, and then swinging around to decapitate a Grimm behind him. Taking a good up and down the alley, Sora saw a small squad of Soldiers – at least three or four each – coming from either direction. Sora tipped Crescent Rose's muzzle towards one of the groups when Jaune suddenly threw his hand in front of him.

"Save your bullets; these are just the small fry!" said Jaune when Sora gave him a look. "We need to find the leader! Once the big one is down, the rest will fall back!"

One of the Soldier Grimm twisted its body and threw itself bodily at Jaune, but the stalwart knight effortlessly deflected the blow with his shield and sliced the monster diagonally with his sword. But while his back was turned, a Soldier from the opposite side lunged at him. Sora caught this in time and shifted Crescent Rose into Scythe Mode, slashing the blade across to meet the Grimm in midair. The monster was bisected into two parts and evaporated into black mist instantly; Sora felt very pleased with himself.

"So any idea where we're supposed to find the leader?" asked Sora, pressing back-to-back with Jaune.

"Nora and I've been doing a little investigating over the past few days," said Jaune, pushing back another Grimm with his shield. "A lot of Grimm seem to come in and out of the Third District. We can only assume that's where their boss is coordinating them from. Go on ahead and look for it."

"What?" Sora yelped; he ducked when Jaune stabbed a Grimm above his head. "You want me to go find the boss level monster? I can barely handle the grunts!"

"I'll be right behind you; don't worry," said Jaune, kicking a Solider to the ground and stabbing it through the head. "The Third District is locked out from the First, so you'll have to go through the Second District to get there. The gate's in an alley past the shops. You better move quickly. If this many Grimm showed up to a hotel, I hate to imagine the number that showed up in the Second District."

"But – " Sora tried argue.

"Just get out of here already before they overrun the area," commanded Jaune.

Sora frowned. He didn't want to leave Jaune behind – mostly because he felt safer knowing that a fully trained knight had his back – but the older man didn't give him any room for argument. When the Soldiers started to swarm again, Jaune shoved Sora down the alley and ran to meet the Grimm halfway, cutting down the first two Soldiers with a single swing. Getting the sense that he would only get in the way, Sora decided to take Jaune's advice and made a run from the entryway that led out into the Second District. Two Soldiers blocked his way, but he quickly dispatched with two quick shots from Crescent Rose's sniper.

Sora threw his shoulder into the entryway and stumbled into the Second District, only realizing too late that he had walked into a plaza packed with Grimm, all of which turned toward him. There must have been close to twenty or thirty Grimm consisting of snarling Hounds and twitching Knights. Sora took an unconscious step back; six Hounds lunged in unison with their teeth exposed and four Soldiers awkwardly marched on him. Sora swung Crescent Rose across the air, slicing four of the six Hounds in half while knocking away the other two, but he left himself open for the Knights, who threw themselves at the spiky-haired boy and kicked him down to the ground.

Sora slid across the pavement, but soon threw himself back up to his feet using Crescent Rose as a support base. Sora shifted his weapon into Gun mode and pulled back the bolt action lever to reload his shot when a sharp, repeating noise rippled over the plaza and several Grimm were inexplicably ripped in half. The spiky-haired warrior blinked in momentary confusion. Then, completely out of nowhere, Ren suddenly appeared directly at his right-hand side; Sora jumped and held a hand over his chest to stop his frantic heartbeat. The shop owner, Sora noticed, was carrying a pair of pistols with _very_ sharp blade underneath them. His weapons, maybe?

"Ren, what are you doing here?" asked Sora.

"Buying you time!" said Ren. Four Grimm tried getting closer; Ren shot them dead in their tracks. "Go! Get to the Third District! I'll cover you! Oh, and take this" – he pulled out a red magazine cartridge and handed it to Sora – "I notice Crescent Rose was running low on ammo. Consider this one on the house."

"Thanks, Ren," said Sora gratefully, already replacing the ammunition.

"You can thank me after we survive the night," said Ren, peppering another row of Grimm in bullets. "Now go!"

Sora didn't need to be told twice. He took off down the alley Jaune told him, rounding around the corner as the plaza echoed with gunshots and screeching. Just up ahead was the gate to the Third District – as if they giant sign hanging overhead wasn't a clue enough. Sora shouldered his way through.

The Third District was substantially smaller than the other two – there was only room enough for one house. The only place on interest was the golden water fountain in the corner of the square, though it looked like it was broken. And the oddest part about the area: there was a very noticeable lack of Grimm. Sora hummed in through, reloading Crescent Rose for good measure as he cautiously walked down the slope into the square.

At the same time, Sun and Penny appeared through a doorway to a balcony above the Third District. Sun was poking his head around the door, peeking through the glass as if expecting something to follow them. Penny leaned over the edge of the balcony out into the district. A distinct flash of red caught her peripherals and she quickly turned her head downwards into the square. Immediately, her eyes locked on to a familiar weapon; one that she had never forgotten in the last ten years.

"There's Crescent Rose!" shouted Penny excitedly, pointing down into the square.

"What? Really?" asked Sun, running over to her side. "Where is it? Is Ruby around?"

"No, I don't see Ruby anywhere…," said Penny sadly.

But while the soldiers from Atlas were distracted by Crescent Rose's sudden appearance after many years, the door behind them burst open and a pair of Soldier Grimm burst through the door.

Sora stood in the center of the square, shifting his weapon left and right in case of a sneak attack, when he heard a large explosion coming from above. The spiky-haired boy turned and stared as two people – a blond man with a monkey tail and a strangely wide-eyed girl – flailed across the air…straight…towards…him! Sora pivoted on his foot to run, but his finger slipped and Crescent Rose transformed into Scythe Mode, it's long rod tripping his feet and causing him to hit the ground. The monkey tailed man fell on Sora first and both let out a painful grunt when their bodies connected. But when the girl landed on them, both guys cried out in bloody murder as what felt like the weight of a tank dropped on them.

"Get off! Get off! I can't breathe!" Sora shrieked, slapping his hands on the floor repeatedly.

"Everything…going…black…," said Sun, whose eyes were starting to roll back.

"Oops, sorry about that," apologized Penny.

The little robot girl causally jumped off the pile and bother Sora and Sun scrambled to stand, making a show to take huge, deep breaths. Sora leaned against Crescent Rose for support, which had not gone unnoticed by Sun nor Penny. The duo from Atlas exchanged silent, meaningful stares with one another before returning their attention to the spiky-haired boy. Sun stepped up to the new wielder of Crescent Rose and opened his mouth to say something when the ground shook underneath them. Sora stabbed Crescent Rose's blade into the ground and held on to the rod while Sun clung to the side of Penny with his hands, feet and tail; the little android smiled absently, not at all finding the scenario strange. A few seconds of silence passed before the ground shook again. Another few seconds, another shake. Silence…shake.

"What is that?" asked Sora worriedly. "Is it an earthquake."

"Afraid it's much worse, kid," said Sun. "Look!"

He was pointing to the opposite end of the square past the wall beyond the fountain as the quake grew stronger and stronger with each moment. Then a massive metallic hand creeped around the edge of the wall, closing its steely fingers over the brick and cracking the surface in its grip. The ground shook again as a large metallic boot stepped around the corner, and again when the other foot came into view. Sora, Sun, and Penny all subconsciously took several steps back as the creature came into full view. An imposing figure that doubled the trio in terms of height, decked in a full set of smooth-metal armor with the same mark that branded the Soldiers vividly showing on its chest. Sora stared at the gigantic armored monster through the eyeholes in its helmet, but all he could see was an endless pit of darkness. This monster wasn't wearing armor; it is the armor.

"That's a Possession-Type," said Sun.

"Huh?" said Sora, turning to the Faunus.

"Possession-Type Grimm are a subspecies of artificial Grimm that take possession of objects rather than assume their own forms," Penny explained. "The project was first started by Atlas, who believed they could weaponize the Grimm. But after the Outbreak of Vale and the Destruction of Remnant, General Schnee discontinued the project. The Grimm in front of us has been classified as a 'Giant Armor' type."

"Giant Armor, that's original," said Sun sarcastically.

"Any tips we can use?" asked Sora hopefully.

"Yes," said Penny brightly. "Try not to get hit by the giant sword."

"The giant what now?" said Sora and Sun in unison.

The Giant Armor raised its right hand over its shoulder and withdrew the massive silver sword that it had somehow hidden behind its back, even though the blade was equal to the Grimm in terms of length. Despite the obvious weight behind the weapon, the Giant Armor was able to lift the sword over its head with ease and swung down on the newly formed trio. Sun and Sora jumped out of the way, but when Sora looked back, he realized too late that Penny was still standing in the middle of the square, staring up as the sword was coming swiftly down on her head.

"Get out of the way!" screamed Sora.

And then, to Sora's absolute bewilderment, Penny clapped both her hands on either side of the Giant Armor's sword as it came down and stopped the blade just short of her cowlick. Sora only stared in stunned silence. With a smile on her face and one hand still holding the sword in place, the android girl brought back her other hand and _punched_ the sword with enough force that Sora could feel the shockwave from where he stood. The Giant Armor stumbled backwards, hitting the wall with its back to leave a massive web of cracks on the surface. Sora walked over to Penny, looking back and forth between her and the monster she had knocked into the wall.

"How did you do that?" he asked shockingly.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny answered simply.

A small backpack that Sora had failed to notice opened up behind Penny and a strange object was suddenly ejected from inside. What looked to be a small gray pistol soon unfolded into a single sword with only one edge before that single blade multiplied into a dozen swords that floated in a ring around the android. Sora was in awe of Penny as she crouched low to the ground and crossed the square in a single bound. The redheaded machine waved her hand around in the air like a conductor to an orchestra, commanding the blade to spin around her as she descended upon the Grimm. However, the Giant Armor ripped itself away from the wall and swung its sword one handed in the air and connected with Penny's orbiting weapons, sending the android flying in the opposite direction.

Penny managed to catch herself in midair by flipping backwards and landed properly on her feet, sliding backwards and leaving deep gouges in the concrete. The Atlesian android looked up and saw that the Giant Armor had already closed the gap between them in a single stride as it sword its sword down on top of her with both hands. Penny brought all of her swords together to form a shield above head, which successfully absorbed the blow of the sword, but the Giant Armor followed up by pulling back its fist and slamming it down on top. Penny's swords fell away and the Grimm's metallic fist sent pieces of concrete flying everywhere when it hit the ground. The Giant Armor slowly pulled back its arm and stared blindly at the spot, but when the dust had settled, Penny was nowhere to be seen.

The Giant Armor looked briefly confused. Then it looked to its left side and saw Penny standing safely next to Sora; the Spiky-haired boy taking his foot off his scythe's edge and flipping it around to combat position. It would appear that Sora had used Crescent Rose's recoil function to throw himself across the square and rescue Penny at the last second.

"Thank you, friend," said Penny gratefully.

"Not a problem," said Sora, smiling.

The Giant Armor raised itself to full height with its hands gripped firmly on its sword, facing the pair when something hard smacked it across the face, causing it to go off kilter. The armored Grimm caught itself before it could tip over and turned its helmet. Sun was crouched on the Giant Armor's shoulder, holding a crimson-gold staff behind his back. The monkey Faunus grinned.

"Hey, you weren't about to forget me, were ya, big guy?" said Sun tauntingly.

The Giant Armor brought its left hand up to its shoulder, but Sun had already leapt from his perch and flipped over the Grimm's head, repeatedly whacking the monster's helmet while in midair. The armor's head swiveled in place, giving it the impression of being disoriented; it had to use its hand to stop the helmet from moving. Sun landed on the upper arm of the Giant Armor. The colossal Grimm noticed and swung its arm at the wall, sending debris flying everywhere. But if the Giant Armor thought it had landed a hit on the scrappy Faunus, it was proven wrong when Sun landed on the Grimm's face plate, sticking his tongue out and blowing a loud raspberry into its eye socket.

The Giant Armor began to raise its hand, and for one moment, Sora thought the Monkey Faunus was going to pull the trick where he jumped out of the way in time for the Armor to smack itself in the face. The thought, apparently, never crossed Sun's mind. When the Armor started to move, Sun separated his staff into four equal parts – two pieces each were attached by golden chains. Sora didn't realize that the sections of the staff were actually made up of guns until Sun started shooting the Giant Armor through the face plate, skillfully rotating and reloading each individual pistol that met his hand while simultaneously firing off the round. The Giant Armor took major damage; the Grimm fell backward until its back hit the wall for a second time, bringing down nearly half the structure with it.

If the Grimm could show expression of irritation, Sora was sure it would. The Giant Armor swiped its massive hand near its face and Sun effortlessly flipped over it, but the Grimm quickly followed up with a one-handed swing of its sword. Sun had no way of turning in midair, so it looked very bad as the blades edge started flying in his direction. A gunshot suddenly rang out in the square, a small spark went off against the Giant Armor's wrist, and, miraculously, the sword barely grazed the top of Sun's hair.

Sun landed on his feet, breathing a sweet sigh of relief, and then shot a thumbs-up to Sora; the muzzle of the grounded Crescent Rose was smoking.

"Nice shot, kid," Sun complimented.

"Thanks," said Sora appreciatively. "It's a lot easier to shoot in Scythe Mode when you remember to ground it first."

The ground shook again as the Giant Armor took a great stride towards Sun, swinging its steely fist around; the monkey Faunus easily flipped over the hand with minimal effort. The armored Grimm then began to lift its other hand – the hand holding its massive sword – when Sora turned to Penny and said:

"Hey, think you can toss me at it?"

"No problem," said Penny, smiling.

Sora held out the end of Crescent Rose's rod, expecting the Atlesian android to grab hold of it, but instead the spiky-haired boy found himself lifted off the ground by the back of his jacket, unconsciously letting out a surprised yelp. The islander sputtered, trying to tell Penny that she had the wrong idea, but then Penny started to spin in place and Sora lost his train of thought. One cycle…two cycles…three cycles was the number of times Penny spun him around before she launched him at the Giant Armor. Though it wasn't how he expected, Sora adjusted in midair and held Crescent Rose's blade outward from himself. The islander flew past the Giant Armor's helmet and hooked Crescent Rose around the joint of the Grimm's wrist. With the force behind Penny's throw, the scythe managed to cut deep into the Giant Armor's dark interior and nearly tipped the Grimm over on impact. And, in a split moment of time, Sora reloaded the bolt action and his finger immediately jumped to the trigger –

 _ **BANG!**_

The scythe made a clean cut through the wrist, severing the hand from the rest of the armor; the Giant Armor's sword stabbed into the ground behind it. Sora touched back on the ground neck to the Giant Armor's legs, reloaded his weapon, pulled the trigger, and allowed the momentum of the shot to carry Crescent Rose in a full circle. The hook end of the scythe slammed into the Giant Armor's ankles, knocking the Grimm's leg right out from under it. The Giant Armor threw out its remaining hand to catch itself, settling into a kneeling position.

"I think we can beat it!" said Sora confidently. "We just gotta stop it from moving first!"

"Leave that to me!" said Penny eagerly.

The Atlesian android raised her hands and the dozen swords floated in a line above her head; she threw her hands forward to send them flying at the Grimm. The floating swords danced around the Giant Armor's body like a swarm of hornets, going underneath its joints, spiraling around the limbs, and threading through any of the small openings. The swords then stabbed into the ground in a circle around the Giant Armor. Though the massive Grimm appeared to be attempting to move based on its constant shuddering, the armor was apparently pinned down by some type of invisible force. Sora couldn't see it at first because it blended with the coloring of the armor, but he could barely make out the wire that were looped around nearly every joint and were anchored by the swords.

"Nice one," Sora complimented Penny before turning to Sun. "Hey, monkey man, think you can get me a clear shot of the neck."

"I like the way you think, Kid," said Sun, grinning.

Sun dashed around the Giant Armor, skidding to a stop in front of its extended arm, leaping on and running up the length until he reached the Grimm's shoulder. The Giant Armor's head turned toward him; Sun stuck his tongue out again. He reconnected his nunchaku-guns into the Staff Form with a fancy twirl before staffing it through the Grimm's empty eye sockets. The Giant Armor gave a loud creak as if it were howling in pain. With an obvious show of effort, Sun pushed against his staff as hard as he could, pushing the helmet backwards ever so slowly despite its resistance. Finally, Sun managed to push the helmet back far enough until it exposed the blackness that connected the head with the rest of the armor.

"Better make it quick, kid!" said Sun in a strained voice. "Don't know how much longer I can hold it!"

"On it!" shouted Sora.

The scythe-wielding islander reloaded the bolt action and pointed Crescent Rose backwards before pulling the trigger. The recoil from the shot launched Sora off the ground like a rocket, sending him flying towards the Giant Armor's head. He twisted around in midair and held out Crescent Rose, hooking the blade around the Grimm's exposed throat. His hands reacted swiftly like it was second nature to him, already reloading the bolt action and flying at the trigger –

 _ **BANG!**_

The gunshot echoed throughout the square as the Crescent Rose's blade ripped through the Grimm's darkness; a black mist exploding from the severing point. Sora, Sun, and the Giant Armor's helmet were sent flying in different directions as Penny released the wires on the Grimm's main body, dropping it to the floor with a mighty rumble. Sora hit the ground at a roll, holding on to Crescent Rose for support, as the Giant Armor's head smashed into the ground behind him. Sora turned and stared at it. Before the helmet completely evaporated into the black mist, Sora saw something float out from under its face plate. It looked like an orb of blue energy – the same kind that he had seen being taken from a civilian earlier that night.

"What is that?" Sora mumbled aloud.

The islander's question went unanswered as the strange blue orb floated off into space and the Giant Armor's body dissolved into nothingness. Sora stared at the sky where it had disappeared, almost unaware as Sun and Penny approached him.

"What'd ya think, Penny?" Sun asked his partner. "Think he's the one?"

"Oh yes, most definitely," said Penny cheerfully. "He is the one we are searching for."

"Wait, what?" said Sora confused, turning on them. "So, you guys were looking for me?"

"General Schnee sent us on a mission to find someone special in Traverse Town," said Penny. "And since you have Crescent Rose, I say that makes you very special."

"You know about Crescent Rose, too?" asked Sora surprisingly, staring down at his weapon.

"They, too, are old friends of Team RWBY," said a familiar voice from behind.

Sora turned as Jaune and Nora walked down the slope into the square, followed shortly behind by Ren and Pyrrha. Jaune looked relatively unharmed – barely a few cuts on his person – but Nora was grinning like a madwoman, carrying a large, heavy-looking hammer on her shoulder. Ren looked like he was suffering the most; he was very fatigued and his glasses were askew, forcing him to lean on Pyrrha's shoulder. Sora let out a sigh of relief just knowing that they were okay.

"Like us, Atlas has been search for Ruby and her friends these last ten years," said Jaune. Unfortunately, we never found anything. But then you showed up with Crescent Rose and filled us with hope again. If shows that if Ruby's scythe can show up again, then maybe it's our first step to find out what happened to our friends."

"That's why you should come with us," said Penny excitedly; Sun nodded in agreement. "We can go to other worlds on our ship. If we start looking together, we're bound to find Ruby."

"Hmm…," Sora hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder if I can find Riku and Kairi…."

"Of course you can!" said Sun instantly.

Sora and Penny snapped their heads at the monkey Faunus, both of them showing different expressions. While Sora's was optimistic and hopeful, Penny seemed almost uncertain. When she thought the islander wasn't looking, Penny hid behind her hand and whispered:

"Are you sure about that?"

"Who knows?" Sun muttered in response. "But our biggest priority is finding Ruby and the others. And right now, this kid is the only clue we have. If we happen to find his friends along the way, then that's just a bonus."

"Sora, go with them," called Jaune, drawing attention away with the whispering duo. "Especially if you want to find your friends. And ours."

"Hmm…okay, why not?" said Sora, sounding hopeful for the first time since he arrived in Traverse Town. "I'll go with you guys. But uh…sorry for not asking ealier…but who are you guys?"

"Penny Polendina," said Penny happily, holding her hand out between them.

"The name's Sun Wukong," said Sun, throwing his hand on top of Penny's.

"And I'm Sora," said Sora, adding his hand on top of the pile.

"All for one, and one for all!" cheered Penny.

"What does that mean?" asked Sun, raising his brow.

"I don't know, it's a throwback," answered Penny.

* * *

Somewhere far, far away from Traverse Town there is a dark corner where the light cannot touch; a small chamber permeating with vile darkness and bitter cold. A single piece of furniture – a small round table made of the grayest granite stood in the heart of the hall. Upon its cracked surface, a small projected provided scares illumination. The images depicted the new wielder of Crescent Rose as he made his alliance with the monkey Faunus and the android from Atlas. Shadows rustled around the table – five shadows to be exact – and none of them voiced any pleasantness.

"That little runt took down that Grimm!" shouted the first shadow irritably. "Yeesh, and I thought Little Red was a nuisance."

"The boy did very little on his own," said the second shadow. "Had it not been the two from Atlas appearing when they did, it is very unlikely he would have survived the ordeal."

"It'd be much quicker to turn him into a Grimm," said the third shadow. "That'd save us a mess of headaches."

"And the brats friends are General Schnee's right hand lackeys!" said the fourth shadow. "Swoggle me eyes, they're bilge rats by the look of them."

"You're no prize yourself, tubbo!" said the fifth shadow, patting the previous man's round gut with a cackling laugh.

"Shut up!" yelled the fourth shadow threateningly.

"Enough!" demanded the second shadow. "Lord Zeref, what do you make of all this?"

All beings present turned to the corner of the chamber where a single sliver of light breached through the cracks in the black stone wall, faintly illuminating the man staring off into space. He held the appearance of a young man with short, tousled black hair, but his pitch-black eyes displayed a sense of wisdom that extended beyond one lifetime. He dressed in a clean black robe with golden trimming; a billowing white sheet draped around his torso and over his shoulders.

For a long moment, the solitary man acted as if he had not listened to them argue mere moments ago. Then he closed his eyes and a smile graced his handsome face.

"The boy wields a blade that has caused us many grievances in days past," said Zeref, his tone was soft and almost poetic by nature. "Is it mere coincidence, or perhaps the hand of fate at work?" He slowly turned his head to them and opened his eyes, the soft smile never leaving his lips. "Either way, things are about to become quite interesting."

* * *

 **Traverse Town is finally out of the way, which means we are finally moving on to the best part of the series: the new world! I hope everyone knows how hard I worked to pick out the best worlds I thought everyone would like the most and throw in my own spin of their stories for maximum enjoyment. Now I know most writers would just go ahead and follow the traditional route (Wonderland – Deep Jungle – Olympus), but I want to try something different; an experiment if you will. I want to give my readers a say on where to go next, so I'm going to leave you three choices below and let you pick which of the three worlds we should start with. The choices are:**

 **A) Deadman Wonderland**

 **B) Yamatai**

 **C) Crocus**

 **The one with the most votes will be the first world chosen. So please, read and review!**


	7. Deadman Walking, Part 1

**Chapter Six: Deadman Walking, Part 1**

"We're in space!" Sora screamed exuberantly. "I can't believe it; we're in space! SPACE!"

"Shut up!" yelled Sun irritably. "You've been screaming 'space' since we left Traverse Town two hours ago!"

"Can you blame me?" said Sora with a wide grin. "We're in SPACE!"

Sun groaned aloud, forehead against the palm of his hand as he leaned against armrest of his seat. Penny smiled vacantly at the monkey Faunus across from her, then turned her eyes to Sora, who was pressing his face against the Gummi Ship window, staring starry-eyed at the glittering void around them.

The spiky-haired islander couldn't be blamed for being so excited. Less than twenty-four hours ago, Sora and his friends had been planning to travel the worlds using a small wooden raft, and now here he was flying a spaceship through the sea of stars – or as Penny corrected him, the Ocean Between. Sora could not find it in himself to sit still knowing that every glittering star in the abyss was another world waiting to be explored. The only thing that would have made this trip between was if Riku and Kairi were…. Sora shook his head, pushing the thought from his mind before it went to a dark place. He knew Riku and Kairi were still alive somewhere; he could feel it in his chest. He knew he was going to find them…somehow.

Just then, much to Sun's relief, the controls of the Gummi Ship started beeping and Penny moved forward to the front of the ship; her fingers flying across the holographic keyboard. A projected image popped up on the dashboard; Sun and Sora leaned over her shoulders for a better look. It was the next world. The small planet looked like it was made to be an amusement park with its rollercoasters and colorful buildings, but there was a very noticeable high wall surrounding the park that made it seem more than oppressive.

"We have arrived at our first world," said Penny, her hands dancing over the keys. "It is called Deadman Wonderland."

"That's a very morbid name," said Sun.

"This world wasn't always called as such," said Penny, bringing up several images of data on the dashboard. "It used to be a thriving city until a great earthquake devastated most of the world. Not long after the event, a new species of human called Deadman started appearing. A private investor – his name is presently unknown to the Atlas database – built Deadman Wonderland as a facility to imprison the Deadman and as a tourist attraction to bring in revenue for the world restoration project. As it stands, nearly the entire park is operated by the prisoners."

"Sounds like a ticking time bomb if you ask me," said Sun. "Why in Remnant would we ever think of going there?"

"Because of this," said Penny, bringing up another screen. It was a news clip from the world below. "Less than a month ago, there was a large scale massacre at a local educational facility. Thirty-one students and faculty were found murdered on site. The only survivor – Ganta Igarashi – was declared the murderer when it was discovered that he was a Deadman. All evidence that was presented to him gave him a life sentence to Deadman Wonderland, but Ganta Igarashi adamantly declared that he was innocent. According to his testimony, his classmates were killed by someone in a…red cloak…."

"Red cloak?" said Sora, blinking. "Didn't Ruby Rose use to wear a red cloak? I think Ren said something about it."

"Yeah, she never took that thing off if her life depended on it," said Sun, his brow furrowed. "But I can't imagine someone as sweet and innocent as Ruby murdering school kids. Does it say anything else about this person in red?" he asked Penny.

"Because Ganta Igarashi was tried as a Deadman, he was declared mentally insane and his testimony was discredited," said Penny. "If we wish to find out more about this person in the red cloak, it may actually be a good idea to search and question him in person."

"Sounds like we have a plan," said Sora, finally taking his seat. "Penny, take us to Deadman Wonderland."

"Roger that, friend Sora!" said Penny with an eager salute.

"You guys are way too into this," said Sun.

Unperturbed by the Faunus' words, Penny took control of the Gummi Ship and soon they were spiraling down to the new world

* * *

㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9 **  
** **DEADMAN WONDERLAND** **  
**㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9㈛9

* * *

After parking the Gummi Ship in a discreet hiding place ("You call the bushes discreet?" said Sora) and managing to sneak past through the park entrance (Sun pantsed the security guard and they walked in), they finally arrived in Deadman Wonderland.

Sora had never been to an amusement park before since they didn't exist on the Islands, so it was understandable why he was so starry-eyed when he stopped and stared around. There were giant rollercoasters that looked like they could touch the clouds, shooting trains of people at breakneck speed. Food stalls and souvenir shops lined the streets for miles selling things the islander had never heard of. Colorful banners and fliers were floating everywhere detailing the special attractions, including, from what Sora read, a live production of CATS performed by the prisoners. Sora was so lost in the glamor of the park that, had Penny not been dragging him by his collar, he would have been separated from his party long ago.

Sun, unfortunately, did not share in his companion's revelry. His sharp eyes darted from place to place, shooting suspicious looks at certain people. It was easy to tell who the prisoners were among the crowds of tourists; they were forced to dark, grimy looking uniforms with their prisoner numbers stamping over their left breast, some of them even wearing silver collars around their necks. The Faunus didn't like it. He didn't like how the tourists could so easily interact with them, requesting their service, knowing full well that many of them were in here for doing terrible things.

"This place is seriously messed up," said Sun, eyeing a prisoner handing out balloons to kids. "What is wrong with these people? Don't they get that most of the guys who work here are bad?"

"We've only been on this world for a few minutes," said Penny understandingly. "We don't know a whole lot about how Deadman Wonderland works or what the people are like. Perhaps those who are visiting feel safe knowing that the park also doubles as a prison. Surely the person who created the park wouldn't let the prisoners walk around freely where they could hurt a lot of people without creating some measure to keep them under control."

"I guess, but I don't like it," said Sun with a grimace. "It makes me wonder what would happen if Cinder Fall or Adam Taurus had ended up in a place like this – they probably would have torn down the place the first chance they got." Crossing his arms, he turned on his heel to face his team. "I wanna get out of this freak show as quick as possible, so let's hurry up and find Gan – where'd Sora go?" he added suddenly.

Penny looked at her hand, suddenly realizing that she had lost her grip on spiky-haired islander; Sun face-palmed.

"When in the worlds did he - ?" Sun started.

"Hey, guys, check it out!" shouted Sora from a distance. "Look at all the stuff they've got here!"

As the new wielder of Crescent Rose ran at them, Sun went slack jawed when he saw the massive pile of merchandise he was hauling. It looked like he had hit every stall and store in Deadman Wonderland starting from the food stalls where his arms were dripping with greasy pizza slices, half-melted ice cream, a tower of funnel cakes, cotton candy of every shade in the rainbow, and an assortment of fried foods that made Sun want to vomit just from the smell. Then it looked like he stopped by and knocked over a souvenir stand with Deadman Wonderland bobble heads, commemorative flags, baseball caps, and keychains ("Why would he need a keychain – he doesn't have any keys," Sun openly wondered.)

"Isn't this awesome?" said Sora, grinning from ear-to-ear. "They have everything here. I even got some stuff to send back to Jaune and the others."

"Sora, this isn't a vacation," groaned Sun, rubbing the bridge of his nose exasperatedly. "We're here on a very important mission: find information about Ruby and her team, and maybe – just maybe – we can find your friends too. We can't do any of that if we're stuck playing tourist."

"Yeah…I guess you're right," said Sora sadly. He walked over to the nearest trash receptacle and dumped all of his souvenirs, clapping his hands clean. "We probably should focus on finding Riku and Kairi and the others. But how come Penny gets to keep all her cool stuff and I can't?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Sun, his brow raised. "Penny isn't – "

As the monkey Faunus turned to Penny, he quickly realized that Sora wasn't the only one that had taken an impromptu shopping trip. In the split econd he hadn't been looking, Penny had purchased a t-shirt that read ' **I Heart** **DW** ', a red foam finger with ' **DW #1** ' printed on it, a soda drinking hat with two open cans of Dead Cola, and a handful of Deadman Wonderland balloons.

Penny noticed the stares she was getting from her friends, noisily sipping from her soda drinking hat; Sun face-palmed a second time.

"Since when did I become the responsible one – it's like saying Ruby doesn't like cookies," said Sun, mostly muttering to himself. "Can you two focus for even five minutes so that we can actually get some work done? In case both of you have forgotten, there is an army of Grimm destroying countless worlds and the best chance we have of stopping them is finding out what happened to Team RWBY. "

"Sun is right, said Penny, though she was unconsciously waving her foam finger. "We should learn more about this person in the red cloak, we must search for Ganta Igarashi."

"But this place is HUGE!" said Sora, throwing his arms out in gesture. "And that's not even mentioning the fact that all of the work staff are prisoners. How're we supposed to find one guy in the middle of all this?"

Sora and Sun crossed their arms and lowered their heads in thought; Penny returned to slurping her drink hat. It was apparent to everyone present that they hadn't thought about their plan of attack. For the most part, Sora thought that they would just run into the person they needed most by chance – that's how adventures worked, right? But now he realized that was just wishful thinking. The spiky-haired islander started contemplating whether or not they should ask the prison staff if they knew where Ganta was, not at all considering the possibility that the prisoners might try to hurt them and lead them astray. But before he could say anything to his partners, a blur of white passed in front of him and the scythe-wielder hit the ground on his butt.

Sora winced from hitting the hard cobblestone path, looking up to see what had hit him. He wouldn't have been surprised if he had been knocked over by a normal girl, but one look at her and Sora could tell that she was far from ordinary. For starters, Sora didn't know anyone girl that would be so body enough to wear a flesh-colored bodysuit that almost made her look like she was naked (the red line and circles were the only indicator that she was indeed wearing something) nor would they cover their hands in bulky brown mittens. But what really drew Sora in was her face: her skin was an unhealthy shade of pale, her eyes red as wine, and her long hair as white as fresh powder. Sora heard the term albinism in school before, but they never had any on the Islands. She looked so beautiful, yet so fragile….

Sora was brought back to reality when Sun's voice ripped through his thoughts.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" he yelled irritably.

"Shiro is sorry!" the albino girl (apparently calling herself Shiro) called back over her shoulder while she kept running. "But Shiro is late! Shiro is in a big hurry to meet Ganta! Ganta wouldn't like Shiro to be late! Shiro will buy ice cream for strangers later, all right?"

"Honestly, the nerve of some people," grumbled Sun, offering a hand to help Sora up. "You would think some people would – wait, did she say she was meeting Ganta?" he added, unconsciously Sora's hand go and dropping him.

"Thanks for the help," said Sora sarcastically, pulling himself up and dusting off his clothes.

"It seems like that girl may know where Ganta Igarashi is located," said Penny, finally throwing away her souvenirs to Sun's relief. "Perhaps it would be best if we chased after her – she might lead us to Ganta Igarashi, where we can then question him for any information he may have on Ruby and the others."

"Why are you guys still standing there!" shouted Sora from a distance; Sun and Penny only just noticed that he was chasing after Shiro. "If we just stand around all day talking, we'll never find Riku and Kairi!"

"Sora, you can't just run off like that!" Sun shouted after him. "Oum damn it, this kid is going to be the death of me!"

The spiky-haired islander weaved his way through the crowd of tourists with Sun and Penny slowly catch up behind him, never losing sight of the curtain of white hair flapping in the wind behind Shiro. A lot of people stopped to stare at the scene when they passed by – very understandable, Sora thought; how often did you see an albino girl that looked practically naked being chased by three oddly dressed weirdos. Shiro, for the most part, didn't seem to notice that she was being followed; she was hopping and skipping around the buildings, swinging in circles on lampposts and leapfrogging over trash bins. She looked like a teenager, but she definitely had the mindset of a child.

Things started getting more complicated when Shiro felt that running through the streets wasn't exciting enough for her. The albino girl pivoted on her heel and leaped to the rooftop of the nearby ice cream parlor in a single bound, and for some reason none of the tourists found this strange. While Sora and Penny couldn't exactly follow her up, Sun's experienced climbing abilities allowed him to jump off a bench, spin around a lamppost, and land just behind Shiro. Sora and Penny continued to shove their way through the crowd on the ground, earning a lot of angry shouts, as they watched their monkey-tailed friend and the albino girl leap from rooftop to rooftop; Shiro laughing the whole way. At one point, Shiro turned her head towards Sora and a smile stretched across her face, waving her gloved hand. She knew they were following her – this was all a game to her.

Suddenly, Shiro stopped and sharply turned on her heel, running in the opposite direction and zooming past Sun before the monkey Faunus realized what happened. Sora, Penny, and Sun screeched to a halt in unison, shuffling their feet wildly and rushing backwards to retrace their steps. Sora only managed to catch a glimpse of Shiro's glistening white hair before she dropped out of sight over the edge. He and Penny came around the corner, Sora panting very heavily while Penny stood perfectly cool; Sora cursed her robotic nature.

They looked around and found that they had walked into the central plaza that was in the center of the amusement park, the entire square packed with people running back and forth between places. But even though Shiro's appearance should have made her stand out like a sore thumb, neither Sora nor Penny could spot the albino among the sea of tourists. Sun jumped down from the roof a moment later, frowning and shaking his head in disappointment.

"Damn, that little white rabbit got away," said Sun.

"She obviously knows her way around Deadman Wonderland better than any of us," said Penny.

"But now we lost our only lead to Ganta and the Person in Red," groaned Sora, ruffling his hair irritably. "Gah! Now what are we supposed to do?"

As fortune would have it, not a moment after the words had escaped his lips, the packs of tourists suddenly screamed, making Sora and the others jump. They looked around before quickly flattening themselves against the wall as the crowd began to stampede in their direction. The trio waited until the last of the tourists had passed and walked back out into the street, facing in the opposite direction. Sora and the others were not at all surprised when they saw a swarm of Soldier Grimm flooding the plaza, throwing themselves at windows and vending carts and tackling stray civilians to the ground.

One of the Soldiers cornered a little girl against a park bench, twitching restlessly with its clawed hand shaking above its head. The little girl closed her eyes and clutched her toy as if the plush would somehow come to life and protect her. The Soldier must have sensed the child's fear because it suddenly became more excited as it started to swing its claw down over her head. But the blow never came; a blur of red zipped behind the Grimm and suddenly the monster evaporated into a cloud of black mist. It took a moment for the girl to realize that she was not dead yet and cautiously opened one eye. Her mouth opened in awe as she looked up at Sora, leaning Crescent Rose in Scythe Form against his shoulder as the black mist faded around him.

"Whoa…," said the little girl with a transfixed stare.

"Go! Get out of here!" shouted Sora, blocking about Soldier with Crescent Rose.

A woman, most likely the girl's mother, came by and picked the girl up before running away, letting Sora fight off the Grimm without distraction.

The spiky-haired islander slashed Crescent Rose diagonally through the air as a Soldier threw itself at him. The scythe stabbing into the cobblestone and Sora lifted himself up using the weapon for support, kicking a second Soldier that followed and sending it flailing into a cotton candy cart; the Grimm came out with an impressive pink pompadour. The scythe-wielder heard the rattling of the Grimm's bone armor coming up from behind and turned around to face the four Soldiers rushing him. With Crescent Rose still grounded into the floor, Sora swiveled the scythe around and pulled back the bolt action lever for taking a shot. One of the soldiers exploded into black mist; Sora pulled the bolt action and repeated the process three times.

As Sora eradicated the last Grimm, the cotton candy-haired Soldier managed to pry itself from the food cart and twisted its body around, throwing itself at the scythe-wielder's backside. Fortunately, Sun suddenly dropped from above and nailed the Grimm across the head with his staff. The Soldier slammed into the ground, leaving wide cracks in the cobblestone; and yet the Grimm maintained its perfect candy hair. Sun separated his weapon into the Gunchaku Form and shot the Soldier before it could get up.

"I got you're back, kid," said Sun as he slapped and shot two more Soldiers. "Now ya just have to worry about your front."

"Are you kidding; these guys are easy!" shouted Sora eagerly, effortlessly slicing a Solider in half. "Now that I figured out how to balance Crescent Rose properly, taking out these Grimm is like a walk in the park. I'm starting to wish they'd put up more of a challenge," he added, bringing down Crescent Rose through a Soldier's helmet.

"It would appear that you are about to get your wish, friend Sora," said Penny, pointing towards the sky.

Sora and Sun followed the direction of her finger, but quickly rolled out of the way when a shower of blood-red shells fell on top of them. The shells exploded when they made contact with the ground, leaving small craters marked with the same shade of red as the shells. Sora poked his head from behind the cardboard mascot cutout; Sun lurking in the shade of the artificial trees, and Penny, for some odd reason was lying perfectly still on her back underneath a bench. The spiky-haired islander ducked back behind his hiding spot again when a second volley of explosive shells popped in front of him. Miraculously, Sora came out of the blast unscathed, but the cardboard cutout disintegrated into a pile of ash at his feet.

The scythe-wielder heard the whistle of another volley and jumped out of the way before the explosion went off, ducking behind a metal trash can and staring into the air. He could tell that they were Grimm because of their white-and red masks, but they were devoid of the black fur or feathers that were commonly associated with the animalistic monsters. They looked like blood-colored dragons with V-shaped beaks and skin as smooth as leather; their tails lashed behind them in the air and the wind whistled through the tattered holes in their wing tips. The black flame emblem was displayed prominently on their thin chests.

There were exactly eight of these new species of Grimm, swooping in a circle around the territory. As they flew overhead, Sun's keen eyes spied the pustules bubbling to the surface on the underside of flying monster's wings, swelling up to the size of pomegranates. When they reached full size, the swellings broke off and dropped like bombs on top of them. The monkey Faunus jumped from his branch moments before the shell exploded and burned away at the artificial foliage. Sun landed on his hands and flipped to his feet, drawing out his staff and smacking a second volley of blood shells away.

"Since when are there Grimm that can make bombs?" asked Sun shockingly.

"My father developed a theory on that," said Penny, sliding out from her place under the bench. "Father believes that the Grimm have the potential for adapting and evolving to match the environments of different worlds that will allow them to engage in combat with the local population. Taking into consideration that this world is a prison created to incarcerate a dangerous species of meta-human, it is a possibility that they altered themselves to replicate their powers."

"You know, I'm starting to regret coming here more and more," groaned Sun.

One of the flying Grimm broke from the flock and dived towards Penny and Sun with pustules forming under its wings. But before the Grimm could get close, a gunshot rang out and the leather-skinned beast crashed into the ground with its head missing. Sora stepped up next to his teammates, Crescent Rose in Gun Form, loading another bullet before shooting at the air. The Grim stopped just short of the bullet and scattered, screeching like a cloud of angry bats.

"Hey, if no one's ever seen these Grimm before, does that mean we get to name them?" asked Sora, reloading and taking another shot. "Because I was thinking of calling them Bloodwyngs, but with a 'Y' instead of an 'I' because it's cooler."

"We'll talk about your definition of 'cool' later," said Sun, snapping his back to staff form. "Let's get rid of these guys before they hurt anyone."

"Don't worry, Sun, I'm combat ready!" said Penny cheerfully.

Penny's backpack opened and the twelve puppet string blades stretched out behind her. With a wave of her hands, the swords cut through the air and scattered into groups of three, heading off into four different directions towards the Grimm. When one sword would fly into the path of the Bloodwyng, the leather-winged Grimm with flail in midflight before spinning around in the opposite direction, only to be stopped against when a second blade would cross its path. With the bloody beast cut off from either direction, Penny crossed her arms and the two blades would curve around the Grimm, looping around its thin frame several times until its wings were pinned to its sides. The Bloodwyng would thrash in its bindings, but its resistance would not last long before a third blade ripped through its chest. Three other Bloodwyngs met similar endings at the same time; the Atlesian android had singlehandedly cut the Grimm's forces in half.

Sun deftly climbed the lampposts nearby and jumped onto the rooftop of the gift shop, narrowly avoiding the blood shells the Grimm were dropping on his head. He took off at a run, leaping over to the next roof while the remaining three Bloodwyngs chased him – figures they'd go after the handsome guy first, thought Sun.

The Monkey Faunus heard the distant _bang_ of Crescent Rose and watched Sora flew through the air and landed squarely on the next rooftop with his scythe pulled back ready to swing. With a grin, Sun jumped over to the next building and skidded to a halt, turning on his heels sharply and facing the Bloodwyngs that had caught up with him. Before the Bloodwyng could alter its course, Sun swung his staff around, rapping the leather-winged Grimm across the face. The Bloodwyng spiraled over the monkey Faunus' shoulder and headed towards Sora; the scythe-wielder sliced it through with Crescent Rose on passing.

The remaining two Bloodwyngs screeched as they swooped overhead, dropping another payload of blood shells on top of them. Sun crouched low before leaping into the air to meet the shells halfway, expertly spinning his staff to scatter the bloody bomb off course; the shells exploded in a wide circle around the building, creating a lot of unnecessary property damage. The monkey Faunus had left one shell untouched, though, lingering in the air for a long moment while maintaining eye contact with one of the Grimm. The Bloodwyng caught his gaze and shrieked; Sun smacked the blood shell skyward at that exact moment. The leather-winged Grimm choked as the shell flew down its throat, lodging itself in its long neck. Sun could have shown the Grimm's eyes went comedically wide before it was ripped apart by the miniature explosion in its windpipe.

The last Bloodwyng curled in air the air from the shockwave its brethren's explosion, but maintained its course hovering over the pair, already starting to cultivate the shells beneath its wings. Sora shifted Crescent Rose to Gun Mode and took three shots, one after the other. Unfortunately, the Bloodwyng skillfully dodged each shot, corkscrewing from side to side without a moment to pause. The leather-skinned Grimm started to dive at Sora when two blades sliced through the air, cleanly severing the monster's wings from its body. The Bloodwyng's limbs fell over the side of the building, where they exploded from the cultivated shells, as the main body literally fell at Sora's feet. The Bloodwyng only got in one final screech before Sora blew its head off.

Sora and Sun put their weapons away as Penny used her sword to hoist herself to the roof before shutting them away.

"Is it just me, or are we too good at this?" said Sora confidently.

"This was only a small group – you wouldn't have lasted long against an entire pack of 'em," Sun chastised; Sora visibly deflated. "Kid, we've been doing this for most of our lives, so we're used to fighting in large numbers. Nothing against your skills, but you've never been in a feel fight until a couple days ago."

"I still did pretty good," Sora mumbled, pouting.

"Something seemed very strange about those Grimm," said Penny.

"You mean besides how they're different kinds of them for different worlds – thanks for telling us that, by the way," said Sun sarcastically.

"Grimm is usually drawn by feelings of negativity," said Penny, humming while stroking her chin. "Envy, sadness, loneliness, and hatred – these are just a few examples of what fuels the Grimm. But they appeared in Deadman Wonderland, an amusement park; a place of happiness and entertainment."

"Yeah, that is a good point," said Sun thoughtfully. "These kinds of place aren't their typical hunting grounds. This can't have been an accident; someone had to have brought them here."

"My first thought was the prisoners of Deadman Wonderland," said Penny," but it that were true, the number of Grimm would have been ten times greater due to the number of prisoners working as staff for the amusement park. On estimate, it would have been equivalent to the horde that ravaged Vale during the – "

"Let's not bring that up – ever – again!" Sun said forcefully; Penny kept her mouth shut.

"So we know that someone called the Grimm to this world," said Sora, trying to cut the unexplainable tension between his teammates. "But who do you think would bring them here on purpose."

"Hey, what're we talking about?" asked Shiro innocently.

Sora and Sun yelped and jumped high into the air, landing in Penny's waiting arms; the Atlesian Android smiled teasingly. The two men leered at Shiro, who had for some odd reason poked her head out of a ventilation duct, her snowy-white hair partially dusted in black. The albino girl pulled herself out of the vent with an audible _pop_ , giving them a wide toothy smile which Sora thought was kind of creepy. When Penny finally told them to get off (she dropped them on their butts), Shiro reached out and grabbed Sora's hand between her gloved ones with stars in her eyes.

"Shiro thinks you are so cool!" said Shiro like a child meeting their idol. "Shiro was watching strangers fight the bad monsters. The bad monsters scared Shiro, but strangers made the bad monster go away. Strangers are heroes just like Aceman!""

"Aceman?" Sora uttered to his team.

"Probably a fictional superhero on this world," said Penny logically.

"Stranger were so cool when they went 'bang, bang'!" said Shiro, imitating the sound of Crescent Rose's gun. "And then girl stranger was all like 'whoosh, whoosh, slash, slash'! And weirdo stranger was like 'kyah, pow, thwack, Boom'! Strangers were so cool; almost as cool as Aceman. Shiro wishes Ganta had been here to see this!"

"Why am I the weirdo?" asked Sun scandalized

"Uh, Shiro, right?" said Sora slowly; Shiro nodded excitedly. "My name's Sora. These are my friends, Penny Polendina and Sun Wukong."

"Who is not a weirdo, by the way!" yelled Sun pointedly.

"You're friends with Ganta Igarashi, right?" asked Sora, ignoring his friend's statement.

"Shiro and Ganta are best friends forever!" Shiro shouted with glee, flailing her hands in the air, laughing. "Shiro and Ganta played together since we were little. We used to play Aceman and eat pudding together every day! Then…then Ganta went away for a while and Shiro was really sad….But Shiro's not sad anymore because Ganta came back, just like he promised he would! Shiro loves Ganta!"

"Well, we're actually looking for Ganta," said Sora.

"Ooh, are you friends with Ganta?" asked Shiro, sparkly-eyed.

"Er…yes?" said Sora uncertainly.

"Yay! New friend!" Shiro cheered. "Shiro will show you were Ganta is! Sora, Sun, and Penny follow Shiro, okay?"

The albino girl skipped happily to the edge of the roof, humming a little tune, before jumping down to street level. The scythe-wielding islander exchanged glances with his monkey-tailed friend, but silently wondering if following Shiro was a good idea. Something told them she wasn't all there in the head. Penny didn't seem to have any qualms with it; she was already down on the street with Shiro while the other two were still thinking about it. And once Penny became involved, they knew there was no point in arguing any further on the point; they dropped down to join them.

They saw Shiro skip over into the middle of the street and kneeled down over a manhole cover, fumbling to grab the edges of the disk with her enormous gloves. Sora had some serious doubt that she would be able to move it; the ting must have weighed a hundred pounds and she was a skinny, sickly-looking girl. Sora was just about to ask Penny to lift it for her when the albino girl suddenly gripped the cover and lifted it over her head as it was as light as a feather. Giggling at Sora and Sun's stunned looks, Shiro tossed the cover; the bench it landed on was crushed into tinder.

Shiro didn't hesitate to jump down the sewage pipe; the sloppy splash echoed up to the street level. Sora, Sun, and Penny leaned over the manhole until both men recoiled with their hands over their noses – Penny wasn't as affected due to lacking a sense of smell. When the three world travelers didn't follow immediately, Shiro poked her head out of the hole, not at all concerned by the pile of green sludge that was caked in her pristine-white hair.

"Hurry, hurry, we're going to see Ganta!" said Shiro keenly.

"Are you sure this is the best way?" said Sun, grimacing. "It doesn't look very safe…or sanitary."

"Shortcut!" said Shiro simply. "Come on!"

The albino girl disappeared underneath again. Sora and Sun were still hesitant, but they were none too surprised when Penny jumped down into the sewage pipe with a spacy smile. Still somewhat reluctant, Sora climbed down the ladder with Sun closely behind him, trying not to vomit from the stench. And when they reached the bottom, they –

"OH MY OUM, WHAT IS THAT?"

"HOW IN THE – HOW DO PEOPLE MAKE THAT?"

"DEAR LORD, THAT IS NOT RIGHT!"

"Hey, do you think that s – NOT SAFE! NOT SAFE!"

"Isn't this exciting?"

"SHUT UP, PENNY!"

* * *

Shiro kicked over the grate of the ventilation shaft, dropping down into the hallway looking surprisingly clean for someone who had wading through a mile of sewage. Sora, Sun and Penny fell out shortly after her, taking a moment to get a better look around at their new environment. The atmosphere was definitely more subdued than the amusement park above ground; the long, colorless corridor gave off a sense of confinement, as if telling them that they would never see the light of day.

"Where are we?" asked Sora, frowning.

"I'm guessing this is the actual prison section of Deadman Wonderland," said Sun.

"Is this where they're keeping Ganta, friend Shiro?" asked Penny politely.

"Uh-huh, Shiro comes to visit Ganta all the time here," said Shiro excitedly. "Ganta isn't allowed to leave because they think Ganta is dangerous, but that means Shiro always knows where Ganta is all the time!"

"So then where is Ganta?" asked Sora.

"Ganta's room is over here," said Shiro, jogging ahead a little while gesturing them to follow. "Hurry, hurry! Shiro wants to play with Ganta and Shiro's new friends!"

It seemed almost amazing, Sora thought as he chased the excitably albino down the hall, that Shiro could even think of playing in an overly depressing prison like this. It had been bothering Sora for a while since they first talked to each other, but something seemed more than off about Shiro. The way she moved through the amusement park above ground meant that she had memorized the layout of the Deadman Wonderland, which would take months, if not years to accomplish. Then there was the fact that Shiro is able to go in and out of the most secure facility undetected, something that could never be accomplished unless they knew every detail of the prison beforehand. Sun had been the one to express these concerns during their trip through the sewers – he was worried that Shiro may not be just an odd tourist, but a prisoner of Deadman Wonderland. The thought had not escaped Sora, but he did not say anything in fear that the albino may overhear them.

As they came around the corner, Shiro suddenly stopped in the middle of her run, causing Sora to bounce off of her and fall backwards, smacking the back of his head on Penny's hard chest; the islander curled up on the ground as a large swelling started to form. Sun ignored his partner's pain and looked at Shiro; her eyes were wide and her mouth agape in terror. Curious, Sun poked his head around the corner, only to pull back sharply before he was spotted.

There were at least a dozen guards blocking the narrow hallway, each of them armed with an automatic rifle and forming a circle around the men caught in the center. When Sun, Penny, and Sora, poked their heads around the corner, they saw that the man the guards were surrounding was not a man, but a boy no older than Sora. He was very skinny and round-face with dark, matted hair, already outfitted in the standard prison uniform and silver collar. In Sora's honest opinion, he didn't look like he could last a day in prison; then again, he wasn't one to talk.

"Hey, what's going on here!" yelled the boy angrily. "What'd you guys want from me?

"Be quiet, prisoner!" said one of the guards harshly.

"Why? I haven't done anything wrong!" said the boy, glaring at them.

"The evidence says otherwise, Igarashi," said a smooth, feminine voice amid the crowd.

The swarm of guards parted down the middle to make a path for the newcomer and Ganta visibly paled, taking a few cautionary steps back until his back hit the wall. The woman that stepped forward reminded Sora of every strict, no-nonsense teacher Sora had ever had since the first grade. Her face was firm and her eyes were sharp and narrow with one strand of dark-brown hair hanging on the right side of her face. Her military styled uniform was prim and proper – not a thread was out of place – her hat sat symmetrically on her head, and the sheathed katana that was strapped to her belt did not go unnoticed by those present. She absolutely radiated with authority; Sun entertained a brief thought of her and Winter sitting down for tea together.

"W-Warden Makina…" Ganta Igarashi stammered fearfully. "Wh – what's happening? Why are you - ?"

"I'll be asking the questions here, Igarashi," said Warden Makina strictly; Ganta and the trio flinched at the tone. "Where we you at precisely 0237 hours this afternoon?"

"Uh…uh….," stuttered Ganta, not yet collecting himself. "I…I think I was in my room at that time."

"Do you have anyone who can validate this statement?" said Warden Makina immediately.

"N-no, I was alone," said Ganta. "Why are you asking me these questions?"

"Because, not too long ago, Deadman Wonderland was attacked by creatures of unknown origin," explained Warden Makina. "Kyoko, show him."

"Yes, ma'am!" said a mousy-haired girl that had gone unnoticed behind the warden.

The short assistant brought up a display pad and fiddled with the device, before spinning it around for everyone to see. From their place behind the corner, Sora, Sun, and Penny could barely make out the image of the Grimm blaring on the screen. They showed multiple accounts of both Soldiers and Bloodwyngs rampaging through the streets, destroying public property and attacking the tourists before they were converted into Grim themselves. It looked a lot worse when seen through someone else's eyes, Sora admitted. Ganta, for his part, looked just as stunned as expected.

"What…what are those things?" asked Ganta hesitantly.

"At the moment, we have no leads," said Warden Makina. "We don't know what they are or where they came from, but we do know that they didn't wandering into Deadman Wonderland on their own. They were lead here…by this person."

The warden's assistant swiped the pad screen to bring up another image. Ganta gasped and the world traveling trio leaned in closer for a better look. In the middle of the picture, surrounded by a swarm of Grimm, was a hooded figured draped in cape that looked like it had been drenched in blood; massive metallic armor covered nearly every inch of its body and was dripping in the same red color as its cape. In the picture, the Red Man was holding out its right hand as what looked to be a swirl of deep red curled into a ball in the palm of his open hand.

"The Red Man," Ganta mutted so softly that Sora and the others could barely hear.

"Is that Ruby?" Sora asked quietly to Sun.

"That is most certainly not Ruby," said Penny strongly. "Ruby's hood is a much lighter shade of red and she would never wear such heavy armor – it would slow her down. It would appear that this Red Man was not the person we were looking for."

"So we came all this way for nothing," groaned Sun. "This sucks. C'mon, we need to get out of here before any of them spot us."

"Wait, what?" said Sora flabbergasted as Sun and Penny started to walk away. "You just want to leave him like this?"

"We can't meddle in the affairs of other worlds, friend Sora," said Penny. "If we become involved, we could risk exposing the existence of other worlds."

"But – " said Sora.

"Sora, what happens to them is none of our business," said Sun, grabbing the spiky-haired islander by the arm. "Now get back on the Gummi Ship before you do something stupid – "

Before the monkey Faunus could finish, they could hear Ganta yelling from down the hall; Shiro gasped and rush forward to meet her friend. Sora, and reluctantly Sun and Penny, poked their heads around the corner again to observe the scene. Ganta was on the floor holding his stomach, looking like he was close to puking up the contents of his stomach; Warden Makina's sheathed sword with unclipped from her belt and held suspended in the air right where Ganta had been standing before. Shiro called out her friend's name, shoving her way through the crowd of guards and kneeling next to him. None of the prison guards seemed to question why Shiro had suddenly appeared,, nor did they bother to restrain her as she helped Ganta to his feet, which made it all the more suspicious to Sora.

"Ganta? Is Ganta hurt?" said Shiro with evident concern. "Can Shiro help? Can Shiro make Ganta stop hurting?"

"I'm…fine, Shiro," grunted Ganta, wincing with his teeth clenched as he glared at the warden. "I'm telling you, I don't know anything about those monsters. I didn't have anything to do with it."

"The evidence states otherwise," said Warden Makina coldly, pointing a finger at the image of the Red Man. "Based on this photographic evidence, we know that this 'Red Man' you constantly speak off is a Deadman as it was seen manipulating its blood into the form of a weapon. Upon further investigation, our forensic team came to the conclusion that the source of their power – their Branch of Sin – is projectile-based. Branches of Sin that manifest into projectile-based abilities are exceedingly rare that, at present, there is only known user of this type: Ganta Igarashi."

"Wait, you can't be serious!" said Ganta outrageously. "You think I'm the Red Man? It's because of that monster that I ended up here in the first place! He murdered my friends, damn it!"

"No two Branches of Sin are the same," said Warden Makina evenly. "There is no record of any Deadman able to replicate another's abilities – at least none that we know about – so you can understand why we would suspect you. The most likely scenario is that you fabricated the identity of the Red Man, Igarashi, as an alternate identity in which you could act out your darker impulses. I do not know if this is voluntary or a case of severe schizophrenia. Whatever the case may be, the powers that be have demanded that you be quarantined from the rest of the prison until we have discussed what action must be taken."

"It wasn't me!" yelled Ganta angrily. "You got the wrong guy! That monster is out there! Someone needs to kill him before you hurts anyone else!"

"That's enough, Igarashi!" yelled Warden Makina firmly. "Either come quietly or we will take you by force!"

"You're not taking me anywhere!" screamed Ganta. Without warning, he bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood. Sora and the others were shocked to see as the thin stream of blood started to move independently in the air, compressing into a small ball in the palm of his open hand. "I have to kill that damn monster! He needs to pay for what he did! And you're not gonna stop me!"

"Ganta, no!" Shiro cried.

It all happened before any of them could blink. Before Ganta could shoot his blood bullet, the prison warden suddenly closed the distance between them, grasping his wrist, and forcing his hand to point to the ceiling. The blood shot hit the roof, creating a small hole in the stone. Warden Makina then then turned the young prisoner around and twisted his arm around until his elbow was touching the base of his spine before slamming him face first into the wall. Ganta glared at the warden over his shoulder; his glare quickly shifted to a gaze of panic when he reached the warden had pulled out her katana and was pressing it against his throat.

"I'm warning you, Igarashi," said Warden Makina. "The powers that be say that I cannot let you die, but I have been given full authorization to hand out punishment as I see fit. Now I consider myself a fair person, but if you give me a reason, I will not hesitate to cut your hands off."

"Leave Ganta alone!" shouted Shiro, attempting to jump the warden, but is pulled back by the guards. "Let Shiro go! Ganta!"

"Get your hands off of her!" yelled Ganta angrily.

"Stop being difficult!" spat Warden Makina. "If you would just – "

"Hold it right there!"

Ganta, Shiro, the warden, and the security guard turned in unison down the hallway as Sora stepped out from behind the corner, glaring at them with determination. Sun smacked himself in the face, cursing the spiky-haired island under his breath and stepped out into the open with him and Penny.

"Who are you three?" said Warden Makina suspiciously. "Civilians are not allowed in here."

"We are – "

"We are an investigative team sent by the Atlesian Military," Penny interrupted before Sora could speak. She and Sun reached into their pockets and pulled out a pair of official-looking badges and identification cards. "I am Major Penny Polendina and these are my subordinates, Captain Sun Wukong and Private Sora. You'll have to forgive our Private, Madam Warden; he still doesn't understand the system of rank."

"What's going on?" Sora asked Sun in a whisper.

"Just let Penny handle this," hissed Sun.

"Military, huh?" said Warden Makina. She thankfully sheathed her sword and strapped it to her side, handing off Ganta to one of her guards. "I was in Special Forces myself; always proud to serve. If I may ask, Major Polendina, why is a foreign military unit wandering around my prison?"

"We are investigating the case of this 'Red Man', Madam Warden," said Penny uncharacteristically formal. "Or more specifically, we wish to study the effects of these Branches of Sin. While the Atlesian Military has gathered much information of the current Deadman that have been documented and examined, this fabled Red Man has held General Schnee's interest for quite some time. From what we can understand, the Red Man may be the most powerful of all Deadman and its abilities could be used for any number of benefits."

"So you want to weaponize it," said Makina darkly.

"Or use it to develop better medical treatments," said Penny. "If the Deadman can use their blood as weapons, who is to say that can't be used to heal injuries and cure illnesses. The Atlesian Military would benefit greatly from this research."

"Hmm…," Warden Makina hummed. "Well, we have evidence that this boy, Ganta Igarashi, may be the alleged Red Man – "

"Are you sure about that," asked Penny; the warden sapped her head back with a gasp. "I couldn't help overhearing earlier that you accused him of being the Red Man based solely on the similarities of their Branches of Sin. It is a good argument and you said it yourself: there is no record of two Branches of Sin being the same or replicated. But just because they don't exist in your records doesn't mean the potential doesn't exist. We know little to nothing about the Red Man. As far as we can understand, the Red Man's unique Branch of Sin may be able to mimic the Branches of other Deadman. If they have encounter Ganta Igarashi in the past, then it is likely they could have stolen his Branch of Sin at the time."

The warden frowned, her mind clearly muddled in thought as she glanced at Ganta. And the whole time, Sora couldn't help staring at Penny with newfound respect. He always just thought she was a spacy robot that was programmed to be happy all the time. He always forgot that she was still a soldier for the military.

"Your argument is valid, but it doesn't change the fact that Ganta Igarashi remains our only suspect," said Warden Makina.

"And I agree," said Penny, "but I think Ganta Igarashi should have a chance to plead his case and allow us the chance to find evidence in his defense. Maybe we can come to an agreement? Give us a chance to interrogate Ganta Igarashi and find out what he knows, and allow us time to build a defense for his case. We'll have a much better chance of searching for the Red Man this way.

"…Very well," said Warden Makina, turning to Ganta. "Igarashi, you will not be quarantined, but you are forbidden to leave your room until this matter is settled. If you want to prove your innocence, then I suggest you cooperate with them."

"Uh – yes, ma'am!" said Ganta.

Shooting a final suspicious look at Penny and her teammates, the warden turned on her heels and marches down the hall, closely followed by her assistant and the security staff, many of whom were glaring at the redhead. When they were out of sight, Ganta let out a breath of relief; Shiro shouted her best friend's name and jumped on him, throwing her arms around his neck and moaning sadly into his shoulder. Ganta chuckled awkwardly and patted her head.

"Well, now that that's settled – "said Sora.

"Nothing is settled, Sora," snapped Sun. "You got us involved and now we can't leave until we figure this out."

"What's the big deal?" said Sora pouting. "What's the problem with helping people?"

"It's not about – ugh, never mind," Sun groaned. "I really hope this is worth it, Sora. Because if this doesn't work out, we might end up causing more trouble. And not just for this world."

* * *

 **As it turns out, writing a world to follow the same course as the Kingdom Hearts game while trying to make it seem original with its own history, characters, and context is a lot harder than I would have thought. I'm not particularly proud of how this chapter turned out – most of it seems like it was forced to be what it is and I'm pretty sure I screwed up in terms of the characters. I estimate to spend at least 2-3 chapters for each world because I want to do as much world building as possible and maybe use characters outside of their designated worlds in the future, so if there is anyone who is willing to critic this chapter and tell me what I can do to make the next chapter less shoddy, please feel free to tell me**

 **So until the next time, please read and review.**


	8. Deadman Walking, Part 2

**Chapter Seven: Deadman Walking, Part 2**

"Why don't we start from the beginning, okay, Ganta Igarashi," said Penny gently.

The Atlesian android sat calmly in the small stool with her hands folded on her lap, staring unblinkingly at Ganta, who sat on his meager bed looking down at his feet like a child being scolded. Sora stood behind Penny, looking at a loss of what to do with himself, while Sun leaned against the wall next to the door with his arms crossed; Sora swore he was just doing it to make everyone think he was cool. Despite the tense atmosphere in the room, Shiro, for some reason or another, was pacing around the room on her hands with wide childlike eyes, perhaps amazed at her own dexterity. But she ended up getting her hands tangled in her long white hair and tipped over, smacking her face on the hard floor. She whined as she sat up, covering her bloody nose with her glove.

Sora shook his head amusingly at the albino girl before taking another look around Ganta's room. The space was very wide – surprisingly accommodating for someone that was supposed to be a prisoner – but it had a level of emptiness to it that made it almost depressing. Aside from the bed, the only other items in the room were: a bouquet of dying flowers on the floor, a giant check for one million CP (whatever that stood for), and a creepy trophy for something called "Carnival Corpse"; Sora was positive that he didn't want to know what that particular carnival entailed.

Penny asked the same question again and Ganta folded his hands together, shaking. There was a certain level of fear in the boy's eyes that Sora could not recognize, but the looks on Sun and Penny's faces told him that they understood well enough. Penny reached out and placed her hand gently on top of Ganta's own; the boy stopped shaking and looked up.

"I understand that it must be difficult for you," said Penny kindly, "but we need to know everything you can tell us about the Red Man and your involvement with him if we're going to prove your innocence."

"Yeah…yeah…okay," said Ganta. He took a deep breath, visibly calming, and stared Penny in the eyes before he spoke again. "I honestly don't know what the Red Man wants with me; I had never even met him before he attacked my school and had me sent here."

"Can you tell us about your encounter with the Red Man?" asked Penny.

"Well…it started out normal enough," said Ganta. "My dad woke me up and sent me off to school. I was having breakfast in class that day because dad was too busy. I was talking with my friends about the class field trip to Deadman Wonderland. Funny how things work out that way, huh? I was waiting for class to start when I started hearing something; it sounded like someone was humming a lullaby I heard before. So I looked around. And that's when I saw him."

"The Red Man?" said Sora.

"Yeah," muttered Ganta, nodding. "He was just floating out the window, staring at me. I didn't know who he was or what he wanted. And then the next thing I knew, blood started flying out of him and they were tearing through everything in the classroom. I didn't realize it at the time that he was a Deadman and all that blood was from his Branch of Sin. I started hearing people screaming. And then I blacked out. I don't know for how long, but when I woke up, everything was…everyone was…"

The young Deadman grasped the sides of his head and bended low until his forehead touched his knees; his who body was shaking. Sora's instinct was to rush forward and comfort Ganta, but Penny threw out her arm sent him a looked that said, 'Don't interrupt us'. Sora's mouth fell open in revulsion; she wasn't serious about making Ganta relive that horrible moment, was she? Sora looked to Sun for help, but the monkey Faunus shook his head. Sora didn't know what to say or do. He understood that it was his fault for getting involved, but this seemed like border lining on torture. But with nothing to argue for his case, Sora dropped his arms to his side in defeat and waited.

Fortunately, Shiro had gotten the same idea as Sora and jumped onto the best with her best friend, throwing her arms around his shoulders. Ganta's shuddered slowly stopped, but he did not lift his head. At least that was a good sign, Sora supposed.

"I saw him there, standing in the middle of what was left of the classroom," said Ganta after a long moment of silence. "That sick freak was holding my friend's head…like some trophy…and then he just threw her on the ground. He approached me. I don't know why, but it was like he kept me alive on purpose. He made some…red crystal appear in his hand and then he shoved it in my chest. It hurt so much; I thought he was going to kill me. That's when I passed out again. When I woke up again, everything was a mess and I got sent here."

"Thank you for telling us this, Ganta Igarashi," said Penny patiently. "You know why the Red Man would keep you alive, or what happened to the red crystal you described."

"I don't know why he would want me; I never met him before that day," said Ganta, lifting his head again. "And I haven't seen him since. And that red crystal…I think it got dissolved in my body, absorbed probably. My friend thinks it might be the reason why I became a Deadman even though I never showed any powers before. The Red Man set the whole thing up; he wanted me to come to Deadman Wonderland."

"But that isn't a bad thing, right, Ganta?" asked Shiro cheerfully, hugging the boy from behind. "Because Ganta and Shiro are together again. Shiro missed Ganta."

"Uh…yeah," said Ganta awkwardly.

"Oh yeah, you guy have known each other for a very long time," said Sora. "Think Shiro knows anything about the Red Man."

"To be honest…I completely forgot about Shiro until I came to Deadman Wonderland," Ganta admitted, hanging his head shamefully. "I mean, I know we were friends when we were kids and I'm starting to remember some things, but not a whole lot. I lost most of my memories of what happened before the disaster. Sorry, Shiro."

"Aw, Shiro isn't mad," said Shiro, smiling widely. "Shiro is just happy that Ganta is back with Shiro. That's all Shiro ever wanted."

Sora noticed Penny and Sun staring a look that seemed told him they were skeptical about the story, but neither of them spoke up.

"I think we've gotten just about everything we can," said Penny as she stood up. "Thank you for your cooperation, Ganta Igarashi. We promise we will find the Red Man and prove your innocence."

"Especially now that we don't have any other choice," said Sun, shooting a glare at Sora.

Sora and his teammates said a few quick good byes to Ganta and Shiro since Warden Makina made it very clear that the Deadman wasn't allowed out of his room until the situation had been resolved.

"Well, at least we know Ruby isn't the one that killed those people," said Sora with his hands behind his head. "At least we're making progress."

"What progress? There was no progress to be made," said Sun indignantly. "All we did was prove that Ruby and the others were never here and then you broke the one rules we were supposed to follow: don't get involved in the problems of other worlds! Now we're stuck solving a messed up murder mystery and we have nothing to go on."

"That's not true; we have plenty of clues," said Penny optimistically. "We know that the Red Man is a Deadman, which narrows the list of suspects to a few dozen people on this world – even fewer since we know the Red Man has to be somewhere in Deadman Wonderland to summon the Grimm. We also know that the Red Man was specifically targeting Ganta when he attacked the school because he chose to keep him alive, which means he knew Ganta beforehand. And we also know that the Red Man made Ganta into a Deadman with a red crystal so that he would be sent here instead of a juvenile detention center since he is too young to be sent to prison on his own. Everything was done with a specific intention of getting Ganta Igarashi into Deadman Wonderland."

"But why would he do it?" asked Sora curiously. "Does he want revenge or something? Is he mad at Ganta for eating his pudding without asking?"

"What kind of person would kill people over pudding?" asked Sun, sweat dropping.

"There are all kinds of people," said Sora sincerely. "Once, Kairi got super mad at me and Riku because we ate her strawberry cupcake – "

"Revenge is possible," Penny interrupted, "but it doesn't seem logical. Ganta Igarashi says he had no memory of ever meet the Red Man before, which means he must have encountered him ten years ago during the great disaster, when Ganta Igarashi's memories were lost. At the time, Ganta Igarashi would have been four years of age. And I cannot think of what could have happened to make a person so upset at a child."

"Which means we're back to square one," grumbled Sun.

"Maybe we can ask the other prisoners about the Red Man," Sora suggested. "If he really is a Deadman, then they might know something about who he is. The Warden did say that no two Deadman have the same abilities. So if we find someone that can use more than one ability, we find our Red Man."

"That's a good plan out loud," said Sun. "But this is a prison full of psychotic criminals. What do you think the odds are that we're going to find someone who doesn't want to eat our faces?"

"Shiro knows someone!" Shiro shouted jubilantly, suddenly poking her head out of the ventilation duct; Sora and the others fell back in surprise. "Shiro knows someone that will help Sora, Sun, and Penny. He's really nice to Shiro and Ganta, though his face always looks red whenever Shiro sees him; Shiro hopes he isn't sick."

"I have a feeling it has nothing to do with being sick," said Sun as his eyes wandered up Shiro's skintight bodysuit; Penny smacked him in the face. "OW! Son of a Grimm!"

"Hey, Shiro, can you take us to this guy," asked Sora. "I'd really help is prove Ganta is innocent."

"Sure," chirped Shiro happily. "He's at the place where they play the games. Shiro can take you there. Follow Shiro!" she added, climbing back into the duct.

"Games, huh?" said Sora with an excited smile as he climbed on Penny's shoulders toward the vent. "That sounds awesome. I guess this place isn't as bad as we thought."

* * *

Sora was right: it wasn't as bad as they thought – it was a thousand times worse than they thought; they didn't think it was possible since they were already in an underground prison facility below the amusement park. But when Shiro kicked the grate open and the four of them dropped down one-by-one, they found themselves in a very dark room where the only source of light came from the spotlights centering on an oversized birdcage like a stage. Even more strange (in Sora's opinion; Sun and Penny have probably seen weirder) was that the birdcage was surrounded by a wall of holographic screens represented by cartoonish pictures of animals and other nonsensical images. There was a lot of noise coming from the screens; it sounded like a cheering section. But the worst had yet to come, Sora realized, as the four of them cautiously approached the birdcage and peeked through the bars.

There were two people trapped inside the cage, one adult man and one teenage girl. The younger girl had short brown hair that quickly stretched into a murky shade of red – the color of blood – and lashed freely through the air like a set of tentacles; Sora had to assume that was her Deadman ability. The man standing opposite her had short black hair that was spiked and wore an eyepatch on his right eye with a tattoo on his brow. His Branch of Sin was a little more apparent; blood leaked through the long cuts in his forearms and solidified into lengthy curved blade that reminded Sora of the blade on Crescent Rose.

Sora, Sun, and Penny watched with horrified expressions as the younger girl lashed her bloody hair at her adversary, but the fore-bladed man lashed his solidified blood at a remarkable speed, effortlessly cutting the stained follicles to threads. The man then charged forward, weaving through the tangle of blood hair that was lashing at him, until he was standing only a foot away. He brought his arm blade around towards her head, but the girl's Branch of Sin snapped around his bicep and stopped his movement a few inches short of penetrating her skull. Unfortunately for her, the man sliced his other arm blade through the blood strand to free himself and kicked the girl in the stomach, slamming her into the cage bars. The holographic audience let out calls of excitement as if they were watching some entertaining sporting event than two people being forced to fight in what could only be described as a gladiator match.

"This is disgusting," said Penny, mouth agape. "These people actually think of this as entertainment, watching people kill each other? This is…just wrong."

"Shiro called this a game," said Sun, leering at the match. "It's more like a cockfight. Does the Warden even know about this?"

Hey, Shiro, why are they – " said Sora, turning to his albino friend…only to discover that she was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, where'd Shiro go?"

Back inside the birdcage, the younger girl was pulling her way back up to her feet using the bars for support, but the older man jumped in and rammed his shoulder into her breast; the girl gasped, coughing up blood. The younger Deadman was sliding down the bars, but her opponent propped her into place with his forearm, settling the blood blade dangerously close to her neck. The immoral audience were cheering, chanting "kill, kill" over and over again. A wide grin spread across the one-eyed man's face as he gradually pulled back his other arm blade. Sora couldn't stand it anymore. Sun and Penny tried to pull him back as he set foot into the birdcage, when –

"Senji!" Shiro's voice echoed in the arena.

Sora, Sun, Penny, the two Deadmen, and the audience turned their attentions to the roof of the birdcage as Shiro had somehow climbed to the top and was leaping down, limbs spread wide with a smile stretching from ear-to-ear. The arm-blade wielding Deadman sputtered in a panic, dropping his opponent on the floor (which she was very grateful for) and started running in a circle with his arms out to catch her. His aim (or maybe e it was Shiro's aim) was way off and Shiro landed directly on top of the Deadman, sending them both crashing to the floor in a huge, animated dust cloud. This time, Sun and Penny joined Sora as they rushed into the birdcage, ignoring the yells and jeers from the audience. When the trio arrived at the spot and the haze dissipated, they found the bladed Deadman on his back, red as a beet, while Shiro's breasts pressed against his face. Penny hen shot a look at her teammates; Sora and Sun were trying to look anywhere but Shiro.

"Senji, Shiro is here!" said Shiro cheerfully. "Senji remember Shiro, right? Hey! Hey! Senji! Hey!"

"I remember, Shiro!" yelped Senji; the panic was obvious in his voice as he tried to turn his head away from her breasts. "Can you just…you know…."

"Hmm?" said Shiro, blinking innocently

"P-p-please just…you know…can you…get off?" Senji sputtered embarrassingly; Shiro gasped horrifically. "What? What'd I sa – OW! OW! OW! OW!"

Shiro pulled herself up, still straddling the man, and started swinging her arms around like windmills, smacking her gloved hands over his head.

"God damn it, what'd I do?" shouted Senji, raising his arms to defend himself.

"Senji called Shiro fat!" yelled Shiro indignantly; Senji's jaw dropped, stupefied. "Senji is a dummy! Dummy! Dummy! Dummy! Dummy! Dummy!"

"That's not what I said at all!" Senji retorted, finally pushing the albino off of him. "God damn…. And who the hell are you three supposed to be," he added to Sora, Sun, and Penny.

"I am Major Penny Polendina of the Atlesian Military," said Penny formally; Sun slapped his hand on Sora's mouth. "These are my subordinates, Captain Sun Wukong and Private Sora. We're here investigating the appearance of a Deadman under the alias of the 'Red Man' and potentially prove the innocence of Ganta Igarashi for the alleged crimes that led to his arrest in Deadman Wonderland. So far, we have interrogated Ganta Igarashi since he was the primary witness to the Red Man encounter, but we were hoping that you might be able to prove some insight on the subject. Have you, by any chance, seen or heard anything concerning the Red Man that would be of interest?"

"Ganta, huh?" said Senji, leaning back casually. "I always liked that kid – knew he was too good to end in a crap hole like this."

"Hey, we're in the middle of a fight here!" shouted the younger Deadman; the audience hissed in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll kick your butt later," said Senji, waving his hand nonchalantly. The teenage girl growled, stomped her foot, and walked off. "About that Red Man, I'm sorry to say I haven't really heard a lot about 'em. This is the G-Ward, ya know? Only Deadmen are allowed down here and we're not allowed to leave; we're trapped underground twenty-four-seven. These collar we wear around our necks –" he added, tapping the silver collar, "– they're to keep us in line. They're constantly pumping us full of poison and the only way to get a temporary antidote is to play nice."

"That's horrible," said Sora. "This place is getting worse and worse by the second."

"The Red Man was spotted recently in Deadman Wonderland," said Penny urgently. "Have you at least noticed anything unusual around the facility? Seen any strange sightings or hearing any noises that are out-of-the-ordinary?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up," said Senji, standing up and brushing himself off. "I never said I was just gonna tell you anything. That's not how things work in the G-Ward."

"But I thought you were Ganta's friend," said Sora dumbstruck.

"I never said anything about being the kid's friend," said Senji, smirking devilishly. "I like the little guy, but it's all about survival down here. You want something down here; you have to fight for it?"

"You want us to fight you?" asked Penny.

"You did interrupt my match, even though I was kicking her butt" said Senji, pointing to the pouting teenage girl at the edge of the cage. "Not for nothing, but if I don't finish a match – win or lose – I'm not gonna get any cast points, and if I don't get any cast points, I can't pay for to stay alive. So I'm gonna make you a deal: if you beat me in a fair fight, I'll tell you a little secret no one else knows about this place."

"This is insane," said Sun. "Who'd be dumb enough to go into the ring with a psychotic maniac with knives growing out of his arms? They'd have to be completely suicidal, right guys? Guys?" he said, turning around to his companions, only just noticing that they were not present.

"We wish you the best of luck, Sun!" Penny called from her place outside the cage.

"You're gonna do great, buddy!" shouted Sora.

"Shiro will be cheering for you!" said Shiro, throwing her hands like she was starting a wave.

"TRAITORS!" screeched Sun, his eyes bulging.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Senji shouted with a maniacal grin. "Never turn your back on a guy, especially one that can slice-n-dice you!"

The one-eyed Deadman launched himself at Sun while the Monkey Faunus' back was turned; the blade of blood stretching from his forearm. Senji slashed his Branch of Sin across the back of Sun's head, but the monkey-tailed warrior deftly dodged the swing without looking by felling forward with the momentum. Sun slapped his hands to the ground to support himself as he lifted his legs, swinging them in an arc so that his heel connected with the back of Senji's head. The Deadman yelped and stumbled a few feet, but gave impression that the strike hurt, only irritated him. Sun flipped back to his feet pulled out Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang – the name of Sun's weapons, Sora finally learned – from the back of his belt and connected them into its staff form. Senji smirked with excitement as he cut open his other forearm and ripped out his second blade of blood.

Senji threw himself across the arena and swiped his blood blade at Sun's chest. The Monkey Faunus twirled his staff around and knocked against the top of the solidified blood to change its direction toward the ground then raised it parallel to him to block the second swing coming from his side. Sun slammed Ryui Bang and Jingu Bang on the floor and raised himself up, lifting both his feet to kick at Senji's face. Unfortunately, the one-eyed Deadman's sharp reflexes pulled the blade of blood in front of him to block the kicks and pushed back against the Monkey Faunus, throwing him off balance with his staff. Sun hit the ground on his back, buck quickly tucked and rolled with the momentum and moved into a crouching position. He barely had a moment to recover before he had to jump to the side to avoid Senji's blade.

Sun rolled back up to his feet and turned to face Senji, who had given chase to the Monkey Faunus and started swinging his blades like a windmill. There was sense of desperation in Sun's eyes as her disconnected Ryui Bang and Jingu Bang into their nunchaku forms to even the odds against Senji's Branch of Sin. The bloody swords and the swinging gun-chucks clashed in rapid time that Sora, still inexperienced to this level of fighting, could only see the brief sparks that came when their weapons met. There was noise of repeated gunfire – Sun was trying to shoot the Deadman while defending himself, but Senji's reflexes were faster than the bullets. The close conflict finally broke between them when Sun ducked underneath Senji's swinging blood blade and kicked him in the abdomen, sending him sliding backward across the cage.

Now that he had put some distance between himself and the Deadman, Sun clapped his hands together and closed his eyes in a meditative trance. Sora watched in awe as his golden hair and tail glowed as brought as the sun, and then a platoon of golden clones suddenly popped into existence. Sora wasn't the only one who appeared dumbstruck – Senji's jaw had dropped, Shiro's eyes were wide as stars, and the holographic audience was murmuring with a mixture of gasps.

The Sun clones rushed ahead at Senji, who finally snapped out of his stupor and swiped his bloody blade when the first of the doppelgangers approached him. But when his Branch of Sin connected with the clone, the shimmering Faunus replicate released a small explosion of golden Dust that sent Senji flying. The one-eyed Deadman hit the bars of the birdcage, creating a small indentation, but still remained standing. Shockingly enough, he was grinning like a kid in a candy shop – he was excited.

"What was that just now?" Sora asked Penny. "How did Sun do that…thing?"

"That's Sun's semblance," said Penny.

"Semblance?" Sora repeated, still very much confused.

"Yes, his semblance," Penny continued. "I forgot that you don't understand much about Aura and Semblance on your world. Aura is the manifestation of one's soul that gives them strength. All living souls in the universe possess Aura, but a lot of times are referred to by different names: Qi, chakra, Eternano, mana – all of them sound different, but they share the same meaning. Aura acts as both a shield and a healer. I'm sure you've already noticed that you can take a lot more damage than you could have before you left your island and that your injuries heal much faster than normal."

"Yeah," Sora nodded.

"Usually it takes years of training before anyone can unlock their aura," said Penny. "But from what you told us, you already had your aura when the Grimm attacked your home. That's never been heard of before. It may have been why the Grimm attacked your island in the first place. The Grimm do not possess aura themselves because they are not truly alive; they are physical manifestations of darkness and evil, seeking out souls to feed on without stop. My father theorized that the Grimm have a natural ability to sense Aura and track down Hunters, but there has been nothing to confirm it."

"And this semblance thing," said Sora. "I'm guessing it has something to do with Aura."

"The semblance has everything to do with Aura," answered Penny. "While aura is the manifestation of a person's soul, the semblance is a tangible projection of a person's personal aura that gains strength based on their 'character' so to speak. Everyone possesses a semblance that is unique to them, though there are some – like the Schnee family – that are able to pass semblance hereditarily. There are some with powerful semblances to manipulate fundamental forces, like Pyrrha Nikos' polarity, and some that can augment a person's physical characteristics, like Ruby's speed."

"Wow, that's so cool!" said Sora excitedly. "What's your semblance, Penny?"

Penny opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud ring of metal and both looked up to see Sun being pressed against the bars by Senji; it looked like he was trying to squeeze the Monkey Faunus' head through.

"Sun, what happened?" asked Sora. "You were doing awesome a minute ago."

"If you had been paying attention to the fight instead of talking," Sun criticized, "you would have known that things took a very bad turn."

Senji reared back his blood blade and swiped at the Faunus' neck, but stopped just short of breaking the skin when Sun's tail suddenly snapped up and bound itself around the Deadman's wrist. Sun then headbutted Senji the face with the back of his head, throwing the one-eyed prisoner off. When Senji regained his senses, he lunged forward with both blood blades crossed and slashed across the air. Sun deftly avoided the swing by running up the bars of the birdcage and flipped backward over his opponent, landing behind the Deadman; Sora, Penny, and Shiro ducked out of sight when Senji's blades sliced through the metal barrier.

Senji turned on his heel toward Sun just before being nailed with a strong uppercut from Ryui Bang and Jingu Bang. The one-eyed Deadman was lifted several feet off the ground, spitting blood from his open mouth, and hit the ground hard on his back. Shaking his head free of the dizziness that followed, Senji blinked and looked up as a shadow passing over one of the spotlights in the underground arena. It took a moment before he realized that the shadow was being cast by Sun, who was soaring above the Deadman with Ryui Bang and Jingu Bang held parallel to himself looking ready to strike. Before Senji had a chance to duck out of the way, Sun dropped down and slammed his staff into Senji's abdomen. A golden shockwave erupted from the connecting point that knocked Sora and the others off their fete and blew out most of the projector screens.

Sora groaned as he pulled himself over the edge of the birdcage platform, blinking his eyes repeatedly to clear his vision of the golden dust. Penny and Shiro joined him not long after; Shiro was facing the completely wrong direction. Sora ignored this and turned his attention back to the ring, a feeling of elation starting to swell. Senji was on the ground on his back, conscious but did not look capable of fighting any further. Standing on top of him with his foot pressed on the Deadman's chest was Sun, holding Ryui Bang and Jingu Bang above his head with his hair and tail glowing gold – that's one nice victory pose, Sora thought. Sora, Penny, and Shiro cheered, jumping into the birdcage to join them.

"That was a short fight," said Sora, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

"That's probably because we weren't paying attention to half of it," said Penny.

"Yeah, what was that about?" said Sun indignantly to Penny. "I'm in here, risking my life, and you're giving a lecture about Aura and Semblance?"

"Well, we never did properly tell him about aura or his capacity for it," said Penny innocently. "I'm sure he's been curious about a number of strange things that were happening to him that he was unaware of, so I thought that since we were finally on a break we could take the time to explain it."

"I wasn't on a break!" snapped Sun.

"God damn, that was some – Shiro, stop poking me," said Senji, slapping away Shiro's gloved hand. Shiro pouted. "You did pretty well for yourself, monkey man. I ain't never seen moves like them before…or that freaky light show you put on. What the hell was that anyway? That didn't look like anything a Deadman could pull off. You're not secretly the Monkey King, are ya?"

"I've been called that a lot," said Sun.

"Hey, Senji, Sun won the match right?" said Sora, crouching down to level with the man. "So you'll tell us what you know about the Red Man?"

"I'm a man of my word, kid," said Senji, groaning as he sat up. "Now…I don't know anything about the Red Man. Sorry – " he added as Sora, Sun, and Penny groaned simultaneously " – but I did promise I'd tell you a secret if you beat me. You know those monsters that attacked the park aboveground less than an hour ago? I was watching television in my room while I was waiting for my match to start when I saw them."

"Yes, we know about the Grimm," said Penny.

"So they're called Grimm, huh – nice name," said Senji with a chuckle. "I had my TV blasted at full volume because I know it irritates my neighbor – he's always so pissed when I wake him up at three in the morning – when I heard the Grimm growling on camera. I thought it sounded familiar. It wasn't until I was walking down the hall that I realized why: I've been hearing the Grimm through the walls every day for the past month, right around the time that Ganta was sentenced here. At first, I thought it was just the kid cracking under the pressure and going insane, but when I beat me in our fight, I knew he hadn't completely lost it. It had to be something else. I just didn't know what it was until now."

"So you're saying the Grimm are inside the G-ward?" asked Sun.

"Not inside it, below it," said Senji. "I used to be a cop before my squad was murdered and I got sent to Deadman Wonderland on false charges. The first thing I did when I came here was scope out the perimeter, looking for the best places to stash items or plan for a prison break. First day, I figured out that the G-Ward was constructed on top of an old research facility that got demolished during the Event ten years ago. The place was never torn down or reconstructed. The owner of Deadman Wonderland just closed it off to everyone – not even the warden is allowed inside. That's where I've been hearing the noises coming from."

"And you didn't tell anyone about this?" said Sora.

"I'm a Deadman – as far as anyone here is concerned, I'm just another homicidal maniac," said Senji, chuckling at the thought.

"It could be the location of a Grimm nest," said Penny. "Grimm don't just appear from nothing; they need a place to gather and build their ranks."

"The it sounds like we need to get down to that facility," said Sora.

"Good luck with that," said Senji sarcastically. "That place is locked up tighter than a nun's…. Well, you get the idea. I've tried getting in there myself and I know a few other people that tried it – most of them are dead now. There's no way you're getting in unless you know some secret entrance."

"We don't," said Sun, "but we know someone who does."

In unison, Sora, Sun, and Penny turned to Shiro, who was petting a pill bug she spotted on the ground, caressing the curled insect like it was a tiny dog. Feeling their stares on her back, Shiro turned and stared back at them, wide-eyed and clueless.

* * *

Very cautiously and quietly – under Penny's strictest orders – Shiro raised the concrete slab above their heads and slid it to the left, opening the narrow underground passageway into a wider area. Shiro was the first one to climb out; Sora's face felt hot with the albino shaking her butt in front of his face. Penny slapped him over the head – hard. Ever the gentleman, Sora allowed Penny to go next and Sun just shoved his way through before Sora brought up the rear. When the islander poked his spiky head out, he took a sharp breath and started coughing uncontrollably. The place was filled with so much dust and foul odors that the first breath had burned his throat and lungs. Sun seemed to feel the same way as he tied a cloth over his nose and mouth before handing one to Sora; Penny didn't have any trouble because she didn't need to breathe.

With the cloth secured around his face, Sora took a moment to look around. The hallway they arrived in looked to have been designed similar to the structure of the G-Ward, but there was a clear distinction age and decay. Walls were either chipped or broken down completely, leaving holes to the rooms inside, doors were cooked or broken off their hinges, glass was littered everywhere on the floor, and weeds began sprouting through the cracks like an unkempt garden. Sora poked his head inside one of the rooms for a better look. There was a lot of technical equipment that that Sora didn't know was for, but it didn't look like it had been used for several years. The spiky-haired islander looked back to his team as Su walked out of the room across, brushing his hand clean on his pants.

"Well?" asked Penny.

"It's definitely a research facility like Senji said," Sun answered. "Looking at the equipment, it kinda reminds me of A-Sector of Atlas's R&D department."

"What's that?" asked Sora curiously.

"The D-Sector is where Atlas scientists study genetic research," Penny explained. "The idea of the A-Sector is to improve the human body, building stronger, faster, smarter soldiers – basically, they wanted to build more Captain Americas. There's…not really been a whole lot of success in that field. Test subjects tend to…explode a lot."

"You think they were trying to build soldiers here?" asked Sora, looking down the hall curiously. "Maybe they were trying to build super soldiers…or maybe this is where the Deadmen started! Maybe, and I'm just guessing, the people who were running this lab were trying to build super soldiers and they accidentally made the Deadmen instead. And then there was a freak accident that caused the earthquake and the virus – or whatever it is – got out and started infecting people, turning them into Deadmen."

"That's probably the best theory we have now," said Sun, shrugging. "Shiro, you've been down here before, right? Do you know we'd…Shiro?"

The white-haired girl was unresponsive at the time; Sora and the others looked down the hall toward their new friend, surprised at what they saw. The normally overexcited and bubbly Shiro was huddle in a corner, legs pulled to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, and her face buried in her knees, shaking. She was mumbling incoherently under her breath. Sora turned to Sun and Penny; they had no clue what was happening either. Finally, Penny stepped forward and crouched to be on level with the albino girl.

"Shiro?" said Penny softly. "Are…are you all right?"

"Bad place hurt Shiro," said Shiro, her voice muffled by her legs. "Bad place hurt Shiro. Shiro hurt. Shiro hurt so bad. Shiro scream for Aceman. Aceman never save Shiro. Bad Place hurt Shiro again…and again…and again. Shiro hurt all the time."

"What is the bad place, Shiro?" asked Penny in a hushed tone. "Who's hurting you?"

"Shiro doesn't want to go back to bad place," said Shiro, sounding stronger. "Bad place will hurt Shiro. Bad place pokes and burns Shiro. No one helps Shiro. Everyone hurts Shiro. Everyone leaves Shiro! Shiro wanted friend to save Shiro! But no one came for Shiro! Aceman didn't save Shiro! GANTA DIDN'T SAVE SHIRO!"

"Shiro, calm down!" said Penny fretfully.

Just then, there was a muffled _boom_ from down the hall, followed by a distant roar. Sun cursed.

"She's attracting the Grimm!" said Sun. "Penny, do something!"

"GANTA LIED TO SHIRO!" screamed Shiro, raising her head and glaring furiously at nothing. "PEOPLE LIE TO SHIRO! THEY SAY THEY MAKE SHIRO BETTER! THEY LIED TO SHIRO! THEY HURT SHIRO OVER AND OVER AGAIN! And Shiro…Shiro wanted to hurt them back. Shiro hurt bad people in bad place. Shiro saw red everywhere. Shiro liked hurting bad people…Shiro want to hurt bad people again…. SHIRO WANTS TO HURT BAD POEOPLE WHO HURT SHIRO!"

"Shiro, snap out of it!" shouted Penny, putting a hand on the albino's shoulder. "You're not – "

Shiro suddenly shot around and threw her fist into Penny's chest, sending the Atlesian android flying down the hall over Sun and Sora's heads. Penny scraped across the floor with an earsplitting screech until she dug her fingers into the ground to stop herself. The redheaded android sat up and looked down at herself; Shiro's punch had left a wide indentation in her chassis. Sora and Sun stared with eyes wide as dinner plates. Penny's outer shell was made from the strongest alloy available in Atlas; an upgrade Penny's father decided to add after she had been broken several years ago. To be able to leave such a mark would have required a force impossible to humans.

Sora and Sun spun around back to Shiro, but all they caught was a glimpse of her long white hair as she jumped down the underground passage.

"Shiro, wait!" called Sora.

Just as Sora was about to chase after her, the left side wall was blown open and Sora jumped back before the debris could hit him. And from the cloud of dust that had been created, a blur of red whipped through the air towards the spiky-haired islander. Sora reached for the weapon hanging off the back of his belt and unlocked Crescent Rose's scythe form, skillfully cutting the streak before it could connect. There was a sick, squelching sound that came from Sora's feet and the scythe wielder looked down. The object was slimy and colored the same shade as blood; it looked like a tentacle with a needlepoint tip. Sun whipped out Ryui Bang and Jingu Bang ad Penny unlocked her Marionette Blades, stepping into line on either side of Sora.

There was a soft growl rippled through the silent hall and the first beast of a much larger group set its clawed foot into the open before the rest followed. The new Grimm was quadrupedal, shaped almost like a dog, but its muscles were massively thicker and completely lacked skin; only a thin layer of bloody-red to cover. The four nails on each of its paws were long like kitchen knives and just as sharp and four lengthy tentacles sprouted from their backs, each one ending at a needle tip. Like all Grimm, the white and red masks covered their faces, and the strange black flame emblem was printed on their shoulders.

The new species of Grimm stepped slowly through the opening one-by-one, slowly filling the harrow hallway until there were at least twenty of the beasts; their long tongues hanging over their razor teeth, slime dripping on the floor.

"Uh…nice doggy?" said Sora.

The bloody hounds screeched viciously and charged at the small party, climbing over each other if necessary. With a yelp, Sora, Sun, and Penny scattered and dived into individual rooms before they were overrun by the wave of Grimm. Sora tucked and rolled with Crescent Rose, shifting the weapon into Gun Mode and spinning around to the open doorway. It took a moment for the Grimm to figure out, but one of the hellish hounds poked its head around the edge and roared when it spotted Sora – the spiky-haired islander shot it through the head. No doubt attracted by the noise, six other dog-type Grimm started climbing over their brethren's fading body

One of the Grimm leaped at the scythe wielder, but Sora shot the beast through the neck while it was in midair and rolled out of the way when two more jumped after him. Sora's back hit the wall as one of the Grimm rounded on his and lunged at him with its teeth spread open. But Sora jumped over the monster's head and activated the trigger that turned Crescent Rose into Scythe Form before slicing through the back of the Grimm's neck, sending the monster's head flying across the room at hit one of its brothers in the face. The dizzy Grimm shook its head but Sora soon followed up with a quick kick to the face that sent the Grimm flying back into the hall. Hissing angrily at the islander, the remaining two Grimm shifted their needle tip tentacle and stabbed at him.

"Hey, guys, I was thinking!" shouted Sora, rolling out of the way of their needles.

"Yeah?" Penny called from the next room over.

"What do you think about calling them Bloodhounds?" said Sora, deflecting a tentacle with Crescent Rose's blade.

"Really?" yelled Sun from across the hall. "We're fighting for our lives and you want to name these things?"

"Not like we can name them after," Sora retorted; Sun mumbled incoherently.

"Well, I like them," said Penny, who was followed by a short, whimpering yelp. "It fits the theme of the world."

"I know, right?" said Sora, sliding over an empty desk as the tentacles stabbed behind him.

"I don't really care for dogs," said Sun. "I'm more of a cat person."

"I bet you are!" said Penny, laughing; Sun sputtered for some reason.

As the Grimm approached from the other side, Sora raised his foot and kicked the desk as hard as he could, sliding it across the dusty floor. While one of the Bloodhounds was knocked to the side, the other was carried by the desk and slammed into the opposite wall. The Bloodhound started clawing against the furniture, but then Sora jumped on top with Crescent Rose in Gun Mode and splattered the Grimm's face across the wall. Sora then turned to the final Grimm, but was knocked off the desk and on his back when the Bloodhound's needle tipped tentacle struck him in the gut and shoulder. Thankfully, the attack didn't hurt as much as it should have (and now Sora knew it was because of his aura protecting him).

The Bloodhound pounced on top of the spiky-haired islander using its claws to pin him to the ground by his shoulders. The Grimm dog snapped its teeth at Sora's face, but he tilted his head to the left and the Grimm bit into the ground instead. The Bloodhound tried again on the opposite side, but Sora once again leaned his head out of the way. The Grimm growled in annoyance and shifted its four tentacles so that all four needle tips were pointing down on top of him – there was no way for him to dodge it. The Bloodhound began to drive its stingers down when the right side wall suddenly blew open and another Bloodhound flew through the opening, colliding with its brother and throwing them both against the wall. The Bloodhounds weakly rose just before a single sword flew in through the hole and stabbed them both through the head and they both evaporated.

Sora sat up and looked to Penny as she offered her hand, smiling gratefully.

"Nice timing," said Sora, taking her hand and standing up.

"I'm combat ready!" said Penny chipper with a salute.

"So I've been told," said Sora.

"Everyone who doesn't want to get run over, OUT OF THE WAY!" yelled Sun.

Sora and Penny jumped and turned toward the door as Sun came barreling into the room, riding bareback on a Bloodhound with Ryui Bang (or was that Jingu Bang) in nunchaku form tied around the Grimm's neck. The dog-like Grimm was trying to buck the Monkey Faunus off, but Sun refused to be thrown off. Then all of a sudden, the Grimm made a desperate charge at Sora and Penny, both of whom jumped out of the way, and slammed headfirst into the opposite wall. Both the Grimm and the Faunus plowed through the wall like it was made of paper; plaster and splintered wood flying everywhere.

Sora and Penny glanced at one another, neither one moving from their spots as they waited for a response from the other side. They heard a short scuffle, a faint hiss, and an echoing _bang_. The room fell silent, but Sun did not emerge from the other side of the wall.

"Sun, are you okay in there?" asked Penny.

"Yeah, it's just…you really have to see this," said Sun, his voice a lot softer than normal.

Sora and Penny looked to each other again in confusion before Penny took the lead through the hole. When the android and the islander climber through to the other side, Penny let out a loud gasp, and to be honest, Sora didn't blame her. The room was built like the others, but nearly every inch of it was covered in thick, dried red stains: the walls, the floor, the ceiling, even the broken window and cracked furniture. The point of origin seemed to come from the operating table in the middle of the room; the metal was bent in nearly every angle imaginable and was completely drenched in red. There were a lot of glass jars littered around the room, most of them were cracked or shattered, but inside them floating in a neon-green fluid was….

"Are those…body parts?" said Sora, trying to stop himself from gagging.

Sun was more courageous and nearly down to the jars. His eye wandered over them and took account of the contents. There were two hands, one foot, several red eyeballs in a single jar, several kidneys, a pair of lungs, and a heart. That was all he could see at least; everything else had been broken open and deteriorated with age. Sun picked up the jar with the foot, noting its size and pale complexion.

"This looks like it was taken off a kid," said Sun, frowning. "What kind of sick freaks would do this to a kid?"

"Hey, check this out!" shouted Penny. Sora and Sun looked to her as she pulled up an old computer tower with a huge crack in the middle. "Maybe we can get some answers out of this."

"Uh Penny, I don't think that's going to work," said Sora. "It looks like it was wrecked years ago."

"Yes, most of the operation system is destroyed," said Penny. She gripped her fingers into the crack and ripped the tower open, revealing the guts of the machine. "But it looks like its main hard disk drive it still functional. If it's not too damaged, I can insert this into my systems and retrieve the data…. Um, do you two mind turning around for a bit?"

"Why?" asked Sora curiously.

"I need to…insert it into my systems," said Penny, surprisingly shy-like.

Sora had no idea what she was saying but Sun seemed to get the idea, suddenly sputtering incoherently and turning red in the face. Before Sora had a chance to ask, the Monkey Faunus suddenly spun him around, clapping his hands over both of Sora's ears, and wrapped his tail around his eyes to blind him. The spiky-haired islander was at a complete loss, but he got the impression that Sun didn't want him asking questions and stayed silent. It was a full minute before Sun finally let him go and turned them around to face Penny, who was staring shyly at the ground with the hard drive nowhere in sight.

"The data is currently being uploaded," said Penny in a tiny voice. "It'll take a minute to complete the download."

"Your father is a freak, you know that?" said Sun flabbergasted.

"He thought it would be a good place to hide important data," said Penny. Sun opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a _beep_ coming from the android's hand. "Oh, the data has finished compiling. All non-essential data has been erased. I'll bring up the important files now."

Penny held up her right hand between them three of them and a shutter opened in her palm to reveal a miniature projector lens inside. The projector flashed on and a small holographic screen blurred into existence. Files and sheets were flying across the screen faster than Sora could keep track, but then again, even if he could follow, he wouldn't understand a single word they were saying. From the small bits he could read, they were written in very high level scientific formula and a lot of fancy words that Sora didn't know the meaning to.

"Based on what I can find, this facility was used to experiment on human biology," said Penny. "The project design was to enhance the immune system of the human body, making them impervious to disease. The project was led by two scientists, Hagire Rinichiro and Sorae Igarashi."

"Any relation to Ganta Igarashi?" asked Sun.

"Apparently, she was his mother," said Penny, still flying through the files. "Ganta was supposed to be the original test subject for the experiment, but she had a change of heart when Ganta was born and they went in a different direction. Hmm…it doesn't say who the test subject was; everything is redacted."

"That sound suspicious," Sun commented. "So what happened with the experiment?"

"Initial testing turned out to be a greater success than anticipated," said Penny. "They learned that the test subject was not only immune to disease, but also capable of hyper-accelerated regeneration. They started but cutting the test subject and watching the healing process before moving on to full amputation…that explains why these jars are full of body parts."

"You're saying they just…chopped someone's body apart," said Sora, mouth agape, "and it just grew back like a lizard?"

"It seems that way," said Penny, humming. "It looks like this file has been cut off…everything pertaining to the experiment following the initial findings has been moved to a new files labeled 'Wretched Egg'. Hmm…it's heavily encrypted; lots of major security mainframes and firewalls protecting it. Whatever they were doing, they didn't want anyone to find out."

"Think you can hack it?" asked Sun.

"I already have," said Penny, grinning as her hand let out a melodic _ding._ "The system of this world doesn't match up to Atlesian technology. Now let's see…ah, there's a video file in here. This might explain things a little better."

As the Atlesian Android pulled up the video, the three world travelers all gasped in united shock; Penny slapped her hand over her mouth, Sun covered his ears, and Sora blinded himself – okay, so maybe he peeked a little through his fingers. Penny had instinctively put the video on mute so that the room was eerily silent, but the video still continued to play. The trio watched in horror of what they witness until they couldn't stand watching any further and Sora slapped his hand over Penny's, cutting the projection. The three travelers stood around not saying a word to each other; Sora was shaking a little.

"I can't…" said Sora hesitantly, "I can't believe they would do that."

"There's no way that recording was faked, right?" asked Sun.

"No, it was real," said Penny sadly. "Every moment of it."

"You know what this means right?" said Sun. "We have to go tell Ganta and the warden about this. Innocent people could be in danger."

"Yeah…yeah, let's go," said Sora weakly.

And the trio filed out of the room and into the hole leading to the secret passageway back to the G-Ward.

* * *

 **I am so sorry that this chapter took so long! There were a lot of scenarios I wanted to try out with Deadman Wonderland while trying to stay true to the story, but I had a difficult time deciding which one to stick with. I actually ended up rewriting the whole thing twice before I figured out what I wanted to do. I also tried to through in some RWBY world building into this chapter, which might not seem an appropriate place in retrospect. But on the bright side, I know what I want to do for the final chapter of this world, so hopefully it won't take as long to put to pen…or whatever you call this. So until then, I ask that you be patient and wait for the next chapter.**

 **Please, read and review.**


	9. Deadman Walking, Part 3

**Chapter Eight: Deadman Walking, Part 3**

As Ganta sat alone in his room, staring at the wall without seeing anything in particular, his mind wandered to the three strangers who had shown up to help him. He wondered if they had found anything about the Red Man that would prove he was innocent or (in the darker part of his mind) if they were even here to help him at all. They did say they were from the military. He's watched the news before. The most people from the military ever do if look for new ways to get better weapons or more power. Though the kid with the spiky hair (Sora, right?) seemed trusting enough.

Ganta sighed heavily and fell back on his pillow. He wished Shiro were there to distract him; she always knew how to take his mind off his troubles. Unfortunately, his musings that dwelled on the albino girl were cut short when the door to his room flew open. Ganta threw himself up, sitting on the edge of his bed, his heart fluttering in his chest with some hope that the three strangers had returned with good news. But that buoyant feeling was quickly sunk when Warden Makina stepped over the threshold; her expression was even more grim than normal. Three armed security guards followed behind, forming a perimeter around the Deadman with the guns trained on him.

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Ganta, jumping up to his feet. The guards raised their guns higher and Ganta stepped back. "Warden Makina, why are they doing this?"

"I am truly sorry, Igarashi," said Warden Makina mournfully. "But the board has come to a decision on your punishment and we are hereby commissioned to bring you in for immediate execution."

"What? You can't do that!" yelled Ganta. He took a step forward toward the warden, but one of the guards beat him back with the butt of his gun. "Ow! Son of a…. You promised to give them a chance to look for evidence! You said I would get a chance to defend myself!"

"And I meant every word I said," explained Warden Makina, grimacing. "But this…this is out of my hands now. The Director of Deadman Wonderland, Hagire Rinichiro, has overwritten my orders and demands that you be immediately executed on the charges of assault, conspiracy, and initiating an attack on innocent civilians with the help of those…things. Believe me, Igarashi, I tried arguing in your defense, but the Director's word is final. This is out of my hands. Take him away," she said to the guards.

The first of the security force stepped forward and grabbed Ganta's arm, but the young Deadman spun around and punched him across the face into the wall. The other two security guards raised their weapons as Ganta bit into the skin between his thumb and forefinger, drawing blood. Before the soldiers could pull the trigger on their rifles, Ganta compressed two bullets of blood in his palm and shot them through the guard's shoulders. The security force landed at Warden Makina's feet, wincing and moaning in pain; the warden gave no sympathy and leered at the Deadman, who was formed a larger blood bullet in his palm.

"Please don't make this difficult, Igarashi," said Warden Makina. "If necessary, I have been authorized to execute you here should you resist."

"I'm not going anywhere!" growled Ganta. "I'm not gonna die until I kill the Red Man with own hands!"

The warden chose silence as a response, cautiously wrapping her fingers around the pommel of her sword. Ganta saw this and visibly stiffened. For all his bravado, he was deathly afraid of the warden and what she could do to him. The warden and the prisoner stared each other down –

"Ganta!" shouted Sora, bursting through the door with Penny and Sun following in step, all of them panting very hard as if they just finished running a marathon. "Ganta! We…we have something! Where is the War – oh, you're already here." he added, just noticing the woman. His eyes wandered down to her hand on the sword and Ganta's hand holding back is shot. "Uh…are we interrupting something.

"Yes, you are," said Warden Makina. "I was about to take Igarashi away for his sentence. He is to be executed immediately."

"You can't do that!" said Sun outrageously. "We have proof that Ganta is innocent. Hell, we have proof that most of the Deadman here were falsely arrested."

"What are you talking about?" asked Warden Makina, wide-eyed.

"Take a look at this," said Penny.

Penny shoved her way through Sora and Sun – they were blocking the doorway – and stepped up to the warden with her palm open. Just like in the underground facility, the Atlesian android opened the projector in her hand and displayed the images on a small holographic window. Sora could see the warden's eyes flying back and forth at rapid speed, reading every line faster than Sora thought was humanly possible. The further she delved into the research notes, the wider her eyes became and the lower her jaw dropped, seemingly unable to comprehend what she was seeing. Then came the images. The horrible, grotesque images of the severed limbs and surgically removed organs preserved in slimy green fluids.

"What the hell is all this?" murmured Warden Makina. "Biological experiments? Test subject deterioration rate? Test subject recovery rate? Fatal injection response? Where did you three find all this?"

"In the abandoned research facility that Deadman Wonderland was built on top of," said Sun. "They were doing some kind of experiment to improve human immune systems, but they ended up going farther than intended. They created something that was immune to all disease and could regenerate from any injury. From what we can tell, the people in charge of the experiment accidentally created the first Deadman."

"Hey, that's my mom's name!" said Ganta, peering around the warden and noticing the name printed on the research notes.

"And Director Rinichiro's name is here as well," said Warden Makina with narrowed eyes. "So you are trying to tell me that the man who built this prison to contain the Deadmen is also the man who helped create the Deadmen in the first place? But that were true, then that would mean…Deadman Wonderland was never created to be a prison. It's a new facility for his research."

"And the Carnival Corpse is his testing ground," said Ganta with clenched teeth.

"Carnival Corpse?" asked Warden Makina in confusion.

"You don't know about it?" said Sora surprisingly. The Warden shook her head.

"Carnival Corpse is where people pay to watch Deadmen kill each other," Ganta said to the Warden. "And whenever a Deadman loses a fight, they get something taken out of them. How do you think Senji lost his eye?"

"The guards told me that Kiyomasa got involved in a fight with another prisoner," said Warden Makina, sneering at the unconscious security on the floor. "But it appears they failed to tell me the full extent of these 'fights'. Believe me, Igarashi, I would never have consented to these despicable contests had I known they were taking place. Now I can't help but wonder what else Rinichiro and my men have been keeping from me. I suppose I will just have to ask him myself," she said, marching towards the door.

"Before we start a rebellion," said Penny, cutting her off. "There's something else you should know about. It's about the Red Man – or as he is officially called, the Wretched Egg."

"You know who it is?" asked Ganta; a look of both hope and contempt glinted in his eye. "Who is it? Tell us! He needs to pay for what he did!"

"It's…not that easy, Ganta," said Sora hesitantly.

"The hell it isn't!" yelled Ganta. "That monster killed my friends and ruined my life! I'm gonna kill him; I have to! So tell me who it is!"

Sora, Sun, and Penny all turned to one another with uncertain expressions. After what they had seen down in the underground research facility, Sora had to wonder how far Ganta would follow through on that promise if he ever found out the truth. Would he be angry? Would he be sad? Would he even understand it? These were all questions that were buzzing through the spiky-haired islander's mind – it's the most he's ever thought of since his island was destroyed, to be honest. He looked back at Ganta, who was shooting him a determined glare, and then back to his teammates. Sun scratched the back of his head, determined not to look at the scythe wielder, but Penny stared back, nodded in confirmation. Whether good or bad, she silently said, Ganta had to know the truth.

"Look, Ganta, about the Wretched Egg…," Sora began.

Suddenly, the room shook violently; Sora, Sun, Penny, and Ganta all stumbled until they collided with each other and fell to the floor; Warden Makina was smart enough to brace herself against the wall. A second violent shockwave followed the first and Ganta's creepy trophy smashed on the floor, breaking in half. A third quake arose and several spider webs of deep cracks started to form along the walls, joined by the panicked screams echoing from the hallway. Through the open doorway, Sora could see both prisoners and guards running up and down the hall in a panic, clearly having no idea what to do in a situation. Warden Makina, however, kept her cool, edging towards the doorway wile embracing the wall as the tremors increased in ferocity. Sora and the others army crawled behind her.

Warden Makina pulled herself around the threshold and clung to the corridor wall while Sora and his friends rolled out. And it was just barely in time; the moment the Penny had cleared the room, Ganta's ceiling collapsed and a massive pile of dirt and metal built up inside.

"Wow, that was a close one," said Sun with a hint of relief as he helped Penny up.

One of the guards was running down the hall towards them. Warden Makina scowled and grabbed the man by the collar, slammed him into the wall and yelled:

"What's going on? Is it another earthquake? We have procedures for just an event, so why are none of them active?"

"It's not an earthquake, ma'am!" yelped the guard. "I don't know how, but something is ripping the G-Ward from out of the ground and pulling us to the surface!"

"What?" shouted Warden Makina; the guard screamed in fright and passed out. "Useless son of a…. I need answers damn it! Who's attacking us?" she yelled at the panicking prisoners and guards. "Calm yourselves and answer me!"

"To hell with that!" shouted Senji, who was running towards them. "Don't just stand there! It's coming this way! Move!"

Sora opened his mouth to ask what was chasing him when the answer appeared around the corner in a blur of deep red. Strips of hexagonal blood plates ripped through the walls and ceiling like a hot knife through butter, melting through the concrete and overlapping each other before spearing through the floor. There were a handful of guards and prisoners behind Senji running down the hall, but only the one-eyed Deadman was fast enough to outrun the threading Branch of Sin; Sun forced Sora to look away, but Sora could still hear them. Senji shoved the warden out of the way and kept running; the warden didn't hold it against him, for she started running after him with Ganta, Sora, and the others fumbling at her heels. Sora could hear the blood strips ripping apart the hallway behind them, but thankfully the noise was getting further and further away the faster they ran.

He, Sun, and Penny followed the prison residents into an open room that they assumed was the cafeteria. It seemed like the guards and prisoners had the same idea; most of them had huddled themselves in the corners and under the tables, including the teenage girl Senji had fought in the Carnival Corpse. More people were starting to flow in through the other two hallways, many of them showing sign of injury or heavy bleeding; some of them even needed to be dragged inside. And in the midst of all the chaos, Warden Makina, looking surprisingly calm, stood atop the table in the center of the room and shouted with full authority.

"If none of you want to die, then shut the hell up and calm the hell down!" she yelled at the room. "I want everyone to gather in groups of ten or less – I want one Deadman in each group! The Deadmen will use their Branch of Sin to form protective barriers around everyone!"

"And why the hell should we – GAK!" shouted one of the prisoners until the warden cut him across the chest with her sword.

"This is not up for debate!" shouted Warden Makina as the G-Ward shook once more. "Everyone group up now!"

There was a murmur of disdain from a couple of the prisoners, but most of the Deadmen huddled up with the security forces without complaint. As Sora, Sun, Penny, and the warden huddled up with Ganta – who had cut his palm open with a discarded bottle cap – the scythe wielder looked around worriedly to the other groups. Senji cuts his forearms open wide and held his hands to the air, creating eight blades of blood that formed a curved down around his group. The girl from earlier whipped her bloody hair around her party into a small, red cocoon on which the rubble bounced off of. And several other Deadmen were using their Branches of Sin in creative ways, determinedly trying to keep their groups alive.

The G-Ward shook violently once more and suddenly felt a pressure pushing them into the floor as more debris started raining down on top of their heads. Ganta fired two shots to break off some of the larger blocks of concrete, but there was too many for one person to take out all by himself. Luckily, Penny whipped out her Marionette Strings and formed an umbrella above their heads, redirecting the rubble away. The prison rumbled again and the pressure was getting stronger. Sora could feel it – the entire G-Ward was being pulled up.

"Everyone, hold on to something!" shouted Warden Makina.

The underground prison rattled one final time and everyone was slammed to the floor as they were rocketed skyward with tremendous speed.

* * *

Aboveground in Deadman Wonderland's main amusement park, the civilians had been thankfully cleared out due to the earlier Grimm attack and had declared closed until the situation had been resolved. This meant there was no one in the line of danger when a spider web of cracks appeared in Deadman Wonderland's central square and the ground exploded upwards. A monolith building shaped like the wheel of a cog was forcibly dragged through the ground by a myriad of blood strips weaving in and out of the hidden prison like veins to an organ. When the G-Ward was halfway out, the blood strips retracted from the walls and the gear-shaped prison collapsed sideways onto the streets, crushing many buildings and attractions underneath. Each section of the G-Ward was broken off from the rest when it hit the ground; some of them were sent flying in opposite directions and others were crushed under their own weight.

A hush fell over Deadman Wonderland…the dust slowly started to settle…. Several tense minutes passed before the sign of activity arose among the ruins.

A pile of broken rocks quivered until they were thrown sideways; Penny's swords folded in on themselves and stored themselves in her back compartment; the Atlesian android let out a sigh of relief. Sora, Sun, and Ganta all groaned in mixed states of pain and soreness; Warden was unmoving on the floor. Sun noticed this and kneeled over the warden with two finger pressed against the artery in her neck.

"Is she all right?" asked Sora out of concern.

"Yeah, she has a pulse," said Sun. "She just took a hit to the head. She may be out of it for a little while."

"What about the others?" asked Ganta worriedly. "Senji? Minatsuki? Are they okay?"

"It looks like they're still alive," Penny called from above, gaining a clear view of the wreckage. "It seems that the warden's plan worked. The Deadmen's Branches of Sin managed to prevent any more casualties, but many of them are either unconscious or too injured to move. It looks like we're the only one that managed to escape unharmed."

"Thanks to you, Penny," said Sora. Penny scratched her head shyly.

"You all aw that, right?" asked Sun, drawing everyone's attention. "That thing that ripped us out of the ground. That was a Branch of Sin, it was a Deadman. A Deadman plucked a five story underground prison facility like a radish…. You guys don't think it's….?"

"Looks! Up there!" shouted Ganta.

The teenaged Deadman was pointing skyward off in one direction and Sora, Sun, and Penny followed the accusing finger to the park's Ferris wheel. Sora gulped audibly when he spotted the Wretched Egg perched on the highest passenger car. His tattered, blood-stained cloaked fluttered in the cool spring wind as the chains clattered against his bulky armor, echoing across the empty amusement park. His expression was unreadable from this distance, but Sora had the clear sensation that the Wretched Egg was grinning in the most sadistic, horrifying fashion.

The hexagonal blood plates that had threaded through the G-Ward popped into existence behind the Wretched Egg patterned into a large ring. The blood stained Deadman casually stepped forward over the edge. The Wretched Egg seemed to glide across the park like a bird in flight and slowly made his descent on the remains of the G-Ward, hovering a careful distance about Ganta and the others. Sora, Sun, and Penny drew their weapons but hesitated to move. After what they had just seen, they were exactly eager to jump into a fight with the Deadman. Ganta, on the other hand, had no such trouble. Before any of the world hoppers could stop him, the young prisoner jumped down and ran for the Wretched.

"Ganta, wait!" yelled Sora as he chased after him.

"You bastard!" Ganta screamed furiously. "This is your fault! You killed my friend! You put me through this hell! And now I know you're the one who took my mom away from me!"

"Ganta, you don't understand!" Penny shouted from behind.

"I'm gonna kill you, you bastard!" roared Ganta. "I swear to God, I'm gonna kill you!"

Through the entire exchange, the Wretched Egg made no attempt at a response. Rather, he just smiled wider than before; his pointed teeth were fully exposed, making him look even more demonic that he was a few seconds ago. Ganta suddenly looked angrier.

The teenage Deadman slid to a stop in the shadow of the Wretched Egg and lifted his right hand, calling up a clot of blood from the cut in his palm and shooting the bullet at the armored monster, falling back on the recoil. The Wretched remained perfectly still, but strips of blood plates spilled forth from the gaps in the armor on his arms, intersected in front of him, and deflected the blood bullet with a quivering _boom_. Ganta slid to a stop with an ugly grimace. The Wretched Egg tilted his dead down, staring at him as if he had only just noticed the boy, his wicked smile till stretched across his lips.

The Wretched Egg barely had to lift a finger before a steady of glistening blood spilled through the cracks of his suit, melding together into a ball floating above his open palm. The Wretched Egg clenched the bloody sphere and pulled back his arm, laughing insanely as he pitched the ball at Ganta. The ball was coming in too swiftly for Ganta to dodge even after he had already started running. Just before the blood ball could nail him in the back of the head, Sora flew in from out of nowhere and tackled Ganta to the ground; the bloody sphere barely clipped the spike of Sora's hair. When the Wretched Egg's fastball failed to hit its intended target, the compressed sphere zoomed toward the rollercoaster across the way with a deafening _bang._ Sora and Ganta looked up just in time to see the entire structure collapse and could feel the ground tremble beneath them.

"You okay?" Sora asked Ganta.

"I will be," said Ganta, turning around and glaring at the Wretched Egg. "Once I kill that son of a – "

"Ganta, there's something you need to know about him!" said Sora urgently and grabbing his shoulder. "The Wretched Egg is really – "

Sora's words were cut off (Don't you hate it when that happens?!) as he Wretched Egg brought down his arm and a whip of blood plates extended from his forearm. The spiky-haired islander kicked Ganta in the chest, sliding them both out of the way before the floating Deadman sliced up the ground. Sora flipped backward, rolled to his feet, and pulled Crescent Rose from his belt with the weapon in Gun Mode. The scythe-wielder took four shots in repetition, but the Wretched Egg effortlessly blocked each shot with his hand, which was covered in a thin layer of blood plates. The First Deadman then punched the air and a sword of blood slipped through its wrist toward him. Sora quickly shifted Crescent Rose to Scythe Mode, pointed the muzzle to the ground with his foot rest on the head, and pulled the trigger. The spiky-haired islander was shot skyward long before the Wretched Egg could pierce the ground.

The Wretched Egg's sightless gaze followed Sora, holding out his hand in front of himself as a serpent made from blood slithered from his elbow up to his hand. The First Deadman pointed the blood snake in Sora's direction and the crimson construct jumped, but a gun rang through the square the snake's head splattered all over the ground. The Wretched Egg turned and his masked face quickly became acquainted with Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang.

The Wretched Egg fell to the ground – the circle of blood plates vanished – but shook off the disorientation and swiped his hand across the air, creating a whip of blood from his wrist. Sun flipped backwards to duck under the first swing, flipped back again to dodge the one on his feet and landed on the back of a bench, and flipped for a third time, when the Wretched Egg swung downward, slicing the bench in half. Sun landed on the roof of the gift shop, joining both his weapons into their Staff Form. The Wretched Egg stood and held out his hand, compressing the free flowing blood from his arms into a ball when his arm was suddenly tugged sideways, sending the bullet into a falafel stand – deep-fried food balls were rained from the sky.

Though he should have been irritated, the Wretched Egg's maniacal grin seemed almost permanent. He looked down at the hand that had failed him. A very thin, almost invisible wire was cutting into the steel of his armor threatening to tear through. He followed the line to the opposite end of the street and found Penny, who looked to be struggling when pulling against the wire. The Wretched Egg pulled back at his arm, but Penny grounded herself to keep her from being pulled forward.

The first Deadman forged a blade of blood from his wrist, but not a moment later, Sora dropped from the sky and sliced through the fluid weapon with Crescent Rose. The Wretched Egg sent a quick volley of blood bullets at the spiky-haired islander, who quickly jumped out of the way. Sun jumped down from the roof and smacked the Wretched Egg repeatedly across his helmeted face – the _clang_ of metal on metal echoed – then jabbed the Deadman in the gut quickly followed by a swift uppercut. The Wretched Egg snapped his head at the monkey Faunus as a dozen hexagonal tentacles ripped through his back stabbed at him. Sun deftly jumped around from the Branch and revealed Ganta, who was standing behind him with a blood bullet ready in his hand. Before the Wretched Egg had the chance to respond, Ganta shot the bullet at the Deadman's head, smashing through the face plate and creating a spider web of cracks in the metal.

The Wretched Egg was knocked backwards but didn't fly very far because Penny's wire was still around his arm. As he fell, the bloodstained flew back and a curtain of flowing white hair spilled out. The Wretched Egg hit the ground on his back; he was still smiling so sadistically. The Deadman rolled over and pushed himself onto all-four. His bloodstained hood flew off and a curtain of pure-white hair spilled out. The Wretched Egg slowly started to stand again; Ganta glared at the masked man; Sora could hear him gnashing his teeth. He shot a glare at Sora and other others and said:

"Why're you all just standing around? This is our chance to kill the bastard!"

"Ganta, we can't do that," said Sun hesitantly.

"Why not?" yelled Ganta furiously. "That thing is a killer, a murderer! He killed my friends at school and he's trying to kill my friends here! He needs to die!"

"Ganta, if you knew the whole truth, you wouldn't be saying that," said Penny softly.

"Why?" roared Ganta, stamping his feet in frustration. "You were the ones who wanted to hunt down the Red Man – Wretched Egg – whatever you call it, and do…whatever it is you guys wanted to do with it. But the whole point was to make this bastard pay! Why did that change? What's so different now?"

"Because, Ganta!" yelled Sora, clapping his hands on the Deadman's shoulders. "Because…that's not the Red Man…. Ganta…the Wretched Egg, the first Deadman your mom created, it's…it's Shiro."

Right as he said that, the mask finally broke off and metal shards sprinkled the ground. Ganta turned slowly toward the Wretched Egg, his eyes growing wider with each moment as the man – or more accurately, girl – came into full view. Shiro tilted her head up so that everyone would see who it was underneath the mask, her wide vindictive smile stretching from ear-to-ear. When it had just been a faceless man, Sora felt it was just mildly creepy, but now that they had a face for the sinister smile, it made Sora want to crawl under a rock. Ganta seemed to take the worst of it. The young Deadman was root in his place; his hands were shaking and his breath became hitched. He looked lost, almost incapable of articulating what he wanted to say.

"Sh – Shiro?" Ganta stuttered. "But – but how? Why? Why would you do this? I don't under…. You were the Red Man? You were the one that killed my friends? Why?!"

"Why?" said Shiro, her voice coming out in a chilling monotone. "That's easy. It because we wanted to see you again, Ganta. Shiro and Wretched Egg wanted Ganta back. Those people took Ganta away from us, so we had to kill them. We killed them in front of Ganta. We gave Ganta a face to hate for killing his friends. We turned Ganta into a Deadman. And we made the bad people bring Ganta to us. We had to make Ganta stronger and angrier at the Red Man that ruined his life, so that he could finish what we failed to do ten years ago."

"I don't get it," muttered Ganta.

"She wants to die," said Penny. Ganta gasped, looking at the android. "Shiro was the test subject used by your mother and Rinichiro for their experiments. When they found out she could heal herself, they subjected her to a number of painful tests that would have killed most people. But because of Shiro's healing factor, she couldn't die. When the pain became too much, Shiro unconsciously created the Wretched Egg personality to cope with the pain."

"Shiro didn't create me," said Shiro – or perhaps the Wretched Egg, in this case. "I always existed inside Shiro, just not as strongly. She was in so much pain; I couldn't stand watching her suffer. So I put her to sleep and suffered in her place. The only thing that made Shiro happy in that hellish laboratory was Ganta, her only friend. And then he abandoned and forgot her, leaving Shiro all alone with nothing but pain to look forward to."

"But then one day, she couldn't take it anymore," Sun continued. "Without Ganta around to take her mind off the experiments, Shiro started suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts. She knew that conventional methods of suicide wouldn't work, so she went another way. She tried using her powers in a way that would destroy her body faster than it could regenerate. That's what caused the Great Earthquake that destroyed the city ten year ago."

"But it failed," said Wretched Egg. "Shiro's body healed and she was in more pain than ever. Shiro had given up on hope that the pain would ever go away until she learned about a red crystal that the scientists were working on that could be used against Shiro if we ever went out of control again. And when we learned that Ganta's class was visiting Deadman Wonderland for a school trip – "

"You stole the crystal and used it to turn Ganta into a Deadman," Sora concluded, "all just so you could die."

"I – I can't do that," said Ganta, shaking his head. "I can't…."

"Yes, you can, Ganta," said the Wretched Egg with a simpering smile. "It's what we want. It's what Shiro wants. Shiro wants the pain to stop and you can make it happen. Kill us Ganta – set us free."

"I can't," said Ganta more forcefully. "You're my friend, Shiro! I can't kill you!"

The Wretched Egg was no longer smiling; her features twisted into an ugly sneer with a look of pure loathing in her gaze. Several chains of hexagonal blood plates slithered through the cracks in her armor. Sora and the others readied their weapons, but Ganta remained rooted into place, looking at a loss for what to do.

"You say you're Shiro's friend, but you won't end her pain?" said the Wretched Egg in a low, angry tone. "You're not Shiro's friend. YOU'RE SHIRO'S ENEMY!"

The Wretched Egg threw her arms forward and the blood strips whipped down on the ground at their feet, smashing the cobblestone path and shoot debris in every direction. Sora, who pulled Ganta by the back of his shirt, jumped out of the way behind an ice cream cart, Penny flew backwards down the road, and Sun launched himself to the rooftops again. The monkey Faunus separated Ruyi and Jingu Bang to their gunchaku forms, racing across the rooftops while firing the shotguns four at a time. The Wretched Egg didn't bother dodging or defending; her skin exploded in multiple areas, but they constantly healed faster than they were destroyed. Instead, she focused her attention on the ice cream cart hiding her pray from sight.

When the Wretched Egg took a step toward the cart, Sora suddenly flipped over the wagon, rolled on the ground, and moved into a kneeling position with Crescent Rose's Gun Mode ready. The spiky-haired islander didn't hesitate to shoot the white-haired Deadman in the chest; the Albino lurched back by a foot, but didn't fall over. As the Wretched Egg healed, Sora pulled back the bolt action and took two more shots, ripping through her left shoulder and right ankle – the latter caused her foot to be severed from the rest of her body. As the Wretched Egg started to fall over, Penny's sword suddenly flew from nowhere, stabbed the Wretched Egg in the back, and ripped out through the front. Penny, who was standing a good distance away, pulled on the Marionette Strings and lifted the Wretched Egg off the ground and into the air.

Sun bound across the rooftops, running across lampposts, and leaping to the top of a giant-sized balloon that propelled him skyward toward the Wretched Egg. The Albino Deadman began pulling at the swords sticking through her chest when Sun suddenly appeared overhead, pointing his gunchaku at her face. Sun pulled the trigger on both guns, flipped the chain around, shot again with the second pair, and then flipped the chain around again when they were reloaded. Over and over and over again, Sun would pepper the Wretched Egg's face full of bullets as they made their descent. The bullets weren't doing any damage even at point blank range – the Wretched Egg was healing too fast.

The monkey Faunus kicked the Wretched Egg in the chest when they were a foot from the ground, pushing her into the cobblestone enough to make a sizable crack. The white-haired girl started to pull herself up; Sora – wielding Crescent Rose in Scythe Form – suddenly appeared from the side, spinning the large weapon in his hand before bringing it down. Crescent Rose's blade ripped through the Wretched Egg's chest, out her back, and stabbed into the ground with a loud _clang._ The Wretched Egg went limp. She wasn't dead, Sora was certain; her healing factor made her almost impossible to kill.

"Shiro," called Sora as Penny and Sun joined him, "you have to stop this now. People are going to get hurt."

"Shiro is already hurting," said the Wretched Egg monotonously. "Shiro wants to stop hurting, but Ganta won't set her free."

"There has to be another way," said Penny uncertainly. "We can take you back to Atlas. They have scientists; they can fix you."

"Nobody can fix Shiro," said the Wretched Egg. "She is already broken. I am the piece that carries hated so that Shiro can be happy. I hate everything. Kill everything. Ruin everything. I inflict pain on everything. Shiro was a forsaken egg. Not alive anymore. Don't you think that gives me the right to hate this world? Don't you think I had the right to hate those people living carefree lives while rejoicing and experiencing boredom and who had forgotten about us?"

"C'mon, Shiro," said Sun. "Let us help you."

"You want to help us?" said the Wretched Egg slowly. "Then let us die…."

"We won't – " Sora started.

"I'll do it."

Sora, Penny, and Sun gapped at Ganta, who had emerged from behind the ice cream cart. The look in the young Deadman's eyes was unreadable. There was no sadness or anger behind them; any killer intent was none existent as well. Ganta stopped across from them, staring down Shiro for a moment, then bit his hand; blood flowed from the tiny opening, whipping naturally around his hand.

"If you want to die, then I'll gladly kill you," said Ganta emotionlessly.

"Ganta, are you – "

"Stay out of this, Sora!" said Ganta forcefully; Sora looked startled. "This is all my fault. I read the reports you showed the warden. I was supposed to be the Wretched Egg, but my mom chose Shiro as a substitute. She was put through hell because of me. She wanted to die so badly that she stole the red crystal that could kill her. She could have given it to anyone, but she chose me. She chose me…because she wanted to be killed by her only friend. She wanted me to set her free. So I'll do it."

"Ganta – "

"Sora," said Sun, setting a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Remember when we said not to interfere with the affairs of other worlds? Now is the time to start listening. I know you don't want to" – he added when Sora opened his mouth to protest – "but this is their fight. This is something they both have been working towards for ten years…. We don't have any right to get in their way."

Sora wanted to argue, that he didn't want anyone to die, but it felt like he didn't have any right to say anything. He had lived on a peaceful island his entire life; he could even begin to fathom what everyone else had experienced in the last ten years. And so, which a look of reluctance, Sora and Penny removed their weapons from the Wretched Egg's body; the wounds healed themselves instantly.

The white-haired Deadman climbed to her feet and turned to Ganta; a genuinely happy smile blessed her beautiful face. The Wretched Egg – or maybe it was Shiro in control now, Sora didn't know – bit her thumb like Ganta and the blood flowed naturally in her hand.

"Thank you, Ganta," said Shiro gratefully. "Let's play together like we did in our younger days.

It happened faster than Sora could blink.

Ganta and Shiro threw their hands out at the same time; Ganta shooting his blood bullet and Shiro thrusting her blood chain. Both attacks passed harmlessly through one another and flew towards the opposition, but Branches of Sin missed and instead destroyed the ground next to the Deadmen. As the debris flew and the wind started to kick up, Ganta and Shiro locked gazes with one another from across the square. They were deadly serious now.

The ring of blood plates formed at Shiro's back and the albino Deadman glided away towards the wreckage of the G-Ward. Ganta quickly gave chase, leaping across the rubble until he reached the top of former underground prison. The younger Deadman aimed his arm skyward and shot a volley of blood bullets at Shiro's fleeing backside. The albino was quick to notice and swiped a whip through the air, simultaneously destroying Ganta's bullets and crushing the stone that he was standing on, making him fall into the G-ward.

Shiro hovered over the wreckage for a moment, possibly contemplating with the idea that she might have killed him too early. But the thought was pushed away when a quick bullet zipped through the smoke toward the albino, only just missing her head and cutting out a hole in her hair. The First Deadman glared at into the prison as the smoke started to clear; she could see Ganta kneeling on the ground with one arm stretched toward her. With a heated glare, Ganta gripped the arm with his other hand to steady it and released a rapid fire of blood bullets to the sky. Shiro effortlessly blocked the projectiles with a listless wave of her Branch of Sin and sliced the chain through the G-Ward walls, slamming Ganta with the debris. The younger Deadman cried out as he was thrown across the way, landing painfully on his back, his forehead starting to bleed.

Shiro touched back on the ground with a look a disappointment on her face.

"Is that all you got," said Shiro with a hint of contempt. "You're really weak, Ganta. Just like when we were children."

"…Yeah, you're right," Ganta admitted feebly. "Still…I came here…and met different people. I trained…I grew a little…. I wasn't strong and didn't understand yet, but I endured…. That's why" – his voice rose to a yell as he forced himself to stand. Though he looked like he could drop at any moment, Ganta still found the strength to raise his hand to his oldest friend – "I'll get back up no matter how much is necessary!"

Shiro smiled.

Their attacks collided and Ganta and Shiro were launched out into the open, where each other them attacked the other relentlessly, but neither one seemed to be making headway.

"You aid before that you wanted me to kill you, right?" Ganta yelled, throwing another bullet at Shiro.

"What about it?" Shiro roared back, effortlessly deflecting the attack.

"I entered the penitentiary, became stronger with the Branch of Sin you gave me, but can I really kill you?" asked Ganta; his voice was slightly muffled by the multitude of explosions both Deadmen were creating. "I forgot about you! Yet you consoled me, saved me, and cheered me up! You were my friend, damn it! You always were!"

There was a brief pause in the action as all the buildings and park attractions came tumbling down with a roar of thunder. Sora, Sun, and Penny, who had been miraculously saved from the carnage by the wondrous ice cream cart, could feel their mouths dropping to the ground. The fight had only been going on for a few short minutes, but both children had already destroyed nearly a quarter of Deadman Wonderland, ripping through the metal and concrete like they were wet paper. Sora was starting to think he might have dodged the bullet by letting Ganta fight instead of him.

Meanwhile, Shiro stood across from her oldest friend with a blank look on her face, showing no passion in her words when she spoke again.

"If you really are my friend, then grant my wish already."

The two of them resumed their fight, the two of them flying through Deadman Wonderland like a pair of birds; crimson bullets and scarlet chains slicing through the air. And the whole time, Sora could only watch. It hadn't really dawned on him until now, but this was what the outside world was like – this is what existed beyond the shores of his island…and it scared him. These were two kids barely older than himself throwing around powers that would be considered godlike on his world, but they wielded their abilities so naturally like it was as easy as breathing air. Since the start of the journey, Sora had been treating everything like it was a game, even when fighting against the Grimm. It was only by watching Ganta and Shiro fight that the spiky-haired islander realized his own inadequacy.

"Sora, are you all right?" asked Penny worried when the boy dropped to his knees.

"It's real," said Sora. "This is really real. This…all of this…it's not a game. These…these people could really kill us. We could really die. What was I thinking, taking on this mission? I'm just some kid from an island in the middle of nowhere. I have no clue what I'm doing. Why did I accept?"

"Sora, get a hold of yourself," said Penny, shaking the boy by his shoulder. Sora continued to mutter under his breath. "Sun, what's wrong with him?"

"The kid's starting to realize what he got himself into," said Sun, grimacing as another explosion went off in the distance. "It's only just clicking that what we do is very dangerous and could get him killed. I was afraid that this might happen, but I was kinda hoping he'd be the type that didn't get scared."

"What do we do about it?" asked Penny, pulling Sora in to her arms.

Sun didn't answer, having no idea how to respond. Having grown up on Remnant, everyone was used the possibility of Grimm attacks and were always prepared for it. But Sora came from an island where there were no Grimm, no monsters, no villains – the worst thing that happened was the occasional bad crops. It was a cultural paradise, but a poor breeding ground for warriors. Penny was looking at him expectantly as if waiting for him to provide the answer to cure their friend, but the monkey Faunus was graciously saved when the two of them noticed something out of the ordinary: the park had gone silent.

Cautiously peeking over the edge of the ice cream cart, Sora, Sun, and Penny peered through the wreckage of the former amusement park and spotted Ganta and Shiro standing close to one another on the opposite side of the square. It took a moment before they realized that the reason they were standing so close was because both of them had a hand on the other's chest; their Branches of Sin were ripping through their backs. After a brief period of staring at one another, both Deadmen dropped. Shiro fell to her hands and knees, spitting blood from her mouth, while Ganta landed on his back with a grimace. It didn't look like either of them was in any condition to keep fighting.

After exchanging meaningful glances, Sora and his friends cautiously stepped out from behind the cart and approached the two Deadmen. Sora and Sun walked around Ganta and gently lifted him up by his arms, helping him into a sitting position, while Penny kneeled next to Shiro and rubbed the albino's back soothingly.

"Hey…you guys all right?" asked Sora timidly; Sun frowned guiltily.

"…what the hell," murmured Shiro tiredly. "Even after all that, you weren't able to kill me."

"…well, it's because," said Ganta with a groan. "That isn't you're true wish, right?" Shiro gasped softly and Ganta leaned forward, resting his hand on Shiro's chest where he had wounded her. "Senji once told me that a person can only tell their true feelings through their fists. I didn't really get it at first, but now I do. You don't really want to die, do you, Shiro?"

Shiro's mouth fell open as if prepared to retort, but a soft gasp came out instead. She bit her lip and tilted her head down so that her hair covered her face; her shoulder's shook and tiny, almost invisible droplets fell on the ground.

"I…wanted to go to school," Shiro gasped, "play with friends…ride on the Ferris wheel…. But I couldn't do any of that. I shouldn't have been born. I…I'm a woodpecker with a poison beak. I've injured and done so many horrible things to lots of people. I don't deserve the right to live. That's why the thing I want most, is to die. I CAN'T FORGIVE MYSELF FOR ALL THE THINGS I'VE DONE!"

Sora, Sun, Penny, and Ganta sat around her in silence, none of them daring to speak out or argue against her; not when her true feelings were finally coming to surface.

"…yet…I don't want to…," Shiro sobbed, finally lifting her head so that everyone could see her tear-stained face. "The truth is…I want to be happy…. I don't want to die…."

Shiro sobbed again, brushing off her tears with the back of her hand. Then suddenly, Ganta grabbed her hand and pulled it toward himself. Sora, Shrio, and the others stared curiously as Ganta dabbed his finger in his own blood and then began to trace a pattern in Shiro's palm. When Ganta was finished drawing, it looked like the top down view of a log with a cut in it – an odd symbol, in all of their opinions.

"With this, Shiro is now my possession," said Ganta. "Even if you can't forgive yourself, even if I can't forgive you, in the end, you'll still my possession. No matter what happens or who gets in our way, even if it sounds absurd, we'll always be together, Shiro."

"…is that really…all right?" Shiro said in a hushed whisper. "Even if you don't forgive me…do I have the right to love you, Ganta…?"

"Of course you do," said Ganta with a soft smile. "You deserve it more than anyone."

She couldn't hold back any more; the floodgates had opened and tears were streaking down Shiro's cheek like a pair of waterfalls. With a wailing c ry that echoed throughout the empty park, Shiro threw herself at Ganta, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. Ganta winced at first, but managed a smile as he rubbed the sobbing albino's head comfortably. And now with the danger passed, Sora, Sun, and Penny all fell back on their butts in unison, letting out simultaneous sighs of relief.

"Well, this certainly wasn't what we were expecting," said Penny. "We didn't find Ruby like we hoped we would, but everything still worked out in the end."

"…not everything," muttered Sun. He and Penny glanced over at Sora, who was sitting with his legs pulled to his chest and stared at the ground with a distant look in his eye. "I get the feeling things are gonna get much harder from here on."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the distant dark chamber of the Immortal Black Wizard, Zeref stood near the granite table alongside one of his followers, gazing interestingly at the image that was projected. He hummed in wonderment for a moment as his pitch black eyes roamed over Shiro's willowy form, pausing for a moment as he examined her white hair and ruby eyes. But in the end, he shook his head in disappointment.

"Shiro is strong and resilient, there is no denying that," said Zeref. "But this is only in a physical sense. Her soul is divided into two parts – this 'Wretched Egg', I believe it calls itself. I am afraid she is ill-suited to become one of the Maidens."

The shadow then stepped out from the darkness and into the light of the projected image. He was an older man with bright orange hair with long bangs that covered his right eye and a lit cigar clenched between his teeth; Zeref found the stench most distasteful, but said nothing. He dressed himself well in a pristine white suit accented by the gray scarf, black pants, and polished black shoes, completely his dapper appearance with a sleek bowler hat and long cane tucked under his arm.

"While we're on the topic, boss," said the gentlemanly villain, "are we going to do something about those pests running around the worlds any time soon?"

"Like what, Torchwick," said Zeref casually.

"Like, I don't know, blowing them up with that black voodoo you do," said Torchwick, waving his arms dramatically.

"Voodoo is a branch of magic I don't practice often," said Zeref with a soft chuckle; Torchwick rolled his eyes irritably. "You seem perturbed, Torchwick. Does that boy bother in someone way…or is it the weapon he carries that brings back haunting memories. As I remember correctly, before you joined my circle, Ruby Rose was the last person you saw before – "

"I know what happened – I was there!" snapped Torchwick, slamming down his cane. "I just think we shouldn't underestimate the brat. I made that mistake before and it ended up biting me in the most literal sense. We need take them out while we have the chance."

"It's not that I underestimate the boy, Torchwick – far from it," said Zeref. "But I have bigger plans in mind for the boy and his friends. But if you feel so threatened by them, perhaps you can take this opportunity to move forward with your own plans."

Torchwick scoffed and sneered at the Black Wizard then turned on his heels and walked back into the darkness. Zeref waited until he heard the door to the chamber slam behind Torchwick before waving his hand over the table. A moment later, Shiro's image was replaced by two more: one being Sora and the other being an unknown figure draped in a long red cloak. Zeref leaned forward over the images with his hands rest on the table. A soft smile crossed his features.

"What are you up to, Miss Rose," he whispered.

* * *

 **Thank the all might Nomura and Oum that's over with – I'm sure you've heard me complain over and over again about matching other media into the KH storyline, so you don't need to hear it from me again. When I was finishing this chapter, I was thinking of adding a psychological element to Sora's character. A fourteen year old boy couldn't fight giant monsters and god-like villains without having some kind of episode of stress or self-doubt, especially considering that his world has never had problems such as monsters and wars. Even though he's supposed to be like "The Chosen One", Sora is still a kid forced to live in a scary adult world. I don't think Sora is the cowardly type if that's what you're going to say, but I do think that he has to eventually come to the realization that he may be in way over his head.**

 **And now that Deadman Wonderland is over, it's time to choose the next world. Like last time, either leave your choice in a review or message.**

 **A) Yamatai**

 **B) Crocus**

 **And be sure to check out my original RWBY story that I am doing in my spare time. It's only the trailers right now, but it'll give you a good feel for what I have in mind. Until next time, Please, read and review.**


	10. Never-Ending Tail, Part 1

**Chapter Nine: Never-Ending Tail, Part 1**

Sora and the others didn't spend much time in Deadman Wonderland once the Wretched Egg – and Shiro – was subdued and detained. Though Shiro was truly apologetic for what she had done, she still needed to pay for her crimes including the mass murder of Ganta's class. Ganta promised to stay by Shiro's side during the proceedings. Speaking of whom; the Deadmen were released from the G-Ward when the information concerning Director Rinichiro's was leaked into the internet by a mystery hacker (I.E. Penny) and the prisoners were promised retrials by Warden Makina herself. Director Rinichiro is now wanted for illegal experimentation, wrongful imprisonment, and falsifying evidence, but none of the authorities have had any luck in finding him. Sora hoped they would catch the monster soon.

The trio of world hoppers left Deadman Wonderland behind aboard their Gummi Ship; all three of them swearing never to set foot on the world again. But if Sora had thought the Wretched Egg was scary, he had known true fear until he met Sun and Penny's boss: General Winter Schnee. The severe-looking woman was glaring at them through the ship's holographic monitor – Sora was afraid she would actually freeze them through the screen.

"So let me see if I understand correctly," said General Schnee in a slow, chilling voice; Sora felt a shiver run up his spine. "Despite repeated warnings, you three felt compelled to meddle in their affairs, thereby threatening to expose the existence of other worlds. Beyond that, you have committed several illegal acts including breaking and enter, interfering in the world's judicial system, threatening public safety, and let's not forget the millions in collateral damage that we, of Atlas, cannot provide relief for without breaking the Universal Charter. What do you three have to say for yourselves?"

"It was Sora's fault!" said Sun and Penny in practiced unison, instantly pointing to the islander.

"Hey!" yelped Sora; they completely threw him under the bus!

"Yes…Sora…," said Winter slowly. "So you're the boy Penny and Sun were sent to retrieve. From what Major Polendina has told me, I am, quite frankly, underwhelmed. I would have preferred it if you had been a little more sensible and lot less bullhead" – Sora held his head shamefully; her words were very really hurtful – "but, as they say, beggers can't be choosers. Where are you three headed next?" she asked Sun.

"We're headed to Crocus, the capital of the Kingdom of Fiore," he answered. "We know that Weiss sent you letters from Fiore ten years ago, so we're guessing that the rest of the team might have visited there at one time or another. There's a huge event happening at Crocus right now that's drawing in a lot of people from all around the kingdom."

"That will make the investigation much easier than having to travel all over the world," said Winter, nodding thoughtfully. "Major Polendina, Captain Wukong, and Sora, you're mission is to question everyone you find on the whereabouts of my sister and her team. Do NOT get sidetracked again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" said Sora, Sun, and Penny together in salute; Sora switched hands when he realized he was using the wrong one.

That being said, General Schnee disconnected the transmission and the world traveling trio fell back into their seats, letting out groans and sighs of relief.

"That's your boss?" said Sora. "No wonder you're so scared of her."

"Trust me, she was in a good mood," said Sun. "You don't want to see her when she's angry."

"I'll take your word for it," said Sora.

The Gummi Ship's console started beeping and Penny's fingers were already flying across the holographic keyboard faster than Sora could blink. Like last time, an image of their next destination came into view on a screen that appeared above the ship's dashboard, only it was more condensed than when they saw Deadman Wonderland. Instead of a top-down view of the world, they were presented with an image of a tightly packed city shaping around a large, oddly-shaped golden castle. A massive pillar of stone stood erect on the opposite side of the city, equal to the castle in height, with a gladiators coliseum chained to the summit.

"This is the city of Crocus, the capital of Fiore," said Penny. She types in a few keys and pulled in a close-up of the coliseum. "This is Domus Flau, the center arena for the Grand Magic Games."

"Grand Magic Games?" said Sora excitedly. "That sounds awesome."

"Yeah, it is," said Penny equally enthusiastic. "For the last seven year, the Grand Magic Games have been a nationwide event to determine the strongest magic guild in the entire Kingdom. Every guild from Quarto Cerberus to Lamia Scale competed in week long events ranging from races, to shooting competitions, to a straight forward battle tournament. It used to be that only wizarding guilds were allowed to compete, but this year the Grand Magic Games received a huge sponsorship from one of the partners and now the Games are open to the public. Any group is allowed to compete."

"Really?" asked Sora with a huge grin. "Then we've got to compete!"

"Did you _not_ just hear General Schnee?" said Sun incredulously. "We're not supposed to get sidetracked."

"Since when do you follow the rules?" said Penny jokingly.

"Since the one making them can, and will, turn me into a Sun-cicle," said Sun. "I just think we should – "

"Sign up for the Grand Magic Games!" Sora and Penny cheered.

"What? No!" yelled Sun horrifically.

But the two stopped listening to the surprising voice of reason and tipped the Gummi Ship towards Domus Flau.

* * *

 **CROCUS**

* * *

Sora and Penny leaned their heads back with their mouths open in awe, taking in the grandness of the coliseum. Even Sun looked impressed. Now that they were on the ground, the stadium looked bigger than what was seen from the ship; each link of the chain anchoring it was even bigger than Sora's house. Penny was ore attracted by the four massive statues that topped the coliseum corners, wondering how long it had taken them to carve the monuments. Crowds of people were climbing the unnaturally long stairway from the city to the coliseum, not at all minding that they were exhausted and sweating. The Grand Magic Games must have been worth it, Sora thought.

"Whoa, this place is even cooler than I thought!" shouted Sora excitedly.

"I have to admit, it's impressive," said Sun, nodding.

"Should we have a look around?" asked Penny.

"Yeah, let's find the sign in sheet!" said Sora eagerly. He and Penny started running toward the entrance when -

"Hold it!" shouted Sun; Sora and Penny froze in mid-step. "Guys, I get that you wanna compete. If this had been ten years ago, I'd be the first one to jump at the chance. But we're here on a very important mission. We have to find out what happened to Team RWBY that made them go missing ten years ago. From what we can tell, all four of them spent a whole lot of time in Fiore, so this is probably our best bet."

"Sun is right," said Penny, nodding. "We should be searching for our missing friends. And who knows? If we find Ruby or the others, maybe we can find out what happened to your friends, Sora."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Sora, scratching the back of his head. "Why don't we split up and ask around. Um…what does Team RWBY look like again?"

"Oh, that's right, you've never seen them before," said Penny, suddenly realizing her mistake. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her scroll, handing it to the spiky-haired islander. "This picture was taken fourteen years ago back when I first met Ruby and the others in their first year. I'm sure they've changed a lot since then, but that should give you a general idea of what to look for."

Sora pressed the button to activate the scroll and a holographic photograph of four teenage girls appeared. Underneath picture was a caption that told their names and their Team Name underneath. The new scythe-wielder became wide-eyed in shock. He knew these people. It had been a couple weeks back and his memory was still hazy of the details, but Sora had seen Team RWBY before when he had fallen asleep that one sunny afternoon on the Destiny Islands. It had not only been the first time he had seen a Grimm, but it was also the first time he had seen the missing team; their images stained in glass beneath his feet. And those images did nothing to build his confidence.

He could remember Yang Xiao-Long, her body slowly being embraced from behind by a pale shadow. He remembered Blake Belladonna – the many versions of her young and old – so lost and isolated, as if she was truly unwanted by the world. He remembered Weiss Schnee, the delicate-looking girl folding her hands in a sorrowful prayer as the Grimm pulled her into their hungry pack. And, oddly enough, he remembered Ruby Rose more than any of the others. Her portrait was not a painful or terrifying, but the memory of the stained glass made Sora's heart beat faster and his throat close up. She had been sleeping and Sora had the feeling that she might never wake up.

It had seemed odd that Sora would have a dream about these four girls, even though he had never heard them before. The spiky-haired islander was about to say something to Sun and Penny when he realized he was all alone. The scythe-wielder looked around, but the crowd was too thick to see anything. Sora grunted irately and crossed his arms.

"Gee, thanks for waiting, guys!" Sora yelled sarcastically.

Sora scratched his head as he looked through the ever growing crowd, at a complete loss of how to go about things. There's no way that he could just run up and ask people if they had seen Team RWBY; for one thing, the crowd was too congested and Sora had a feeling if he tried to make his way through, he would get crushed. Fortunately, the spiky-haired islander looked around and spotted an entrance that no one else was using and decided to follow it. He had failed to notice that the sign hanging above the entryway said 'authorized personnel only'.

Sora stepped inside a small chamber that was sparse of anything other than a few chairs and a large, heavy-looking pedestal on the side that looked remarkable out of place. It appeared to be some kind of waiting area. He then heard a noise and Sora's first instinct was to grab Crescent Rose, but when he got a good look at the source, the spiky-haired islander visibly relaxed.

A very short man was standing on top of a wooden stool, seemingly trying to fix a crooked sign labeled "RULES" in massive text. Sora could only see him from the back and he couldn't see much because the man was wearing a flowing green cape and a crooked witch's hat that concealed the majority of his head.

The short man was grumbling under his breath, tilting the sign in one direction before it leaned in the other; the short man stomped his foot angrily, which nearly threw him off the stool.

"Uh…" Sora mumbled.

"Oh, good timing!" cheered the short man; his voice was very high pitched. "Would you mind giving me a hand? Think you could move that pedestal out of here?" – he gestured to the out-of-place statue – " I don't know what it's even doing here in the first place. I really need to spruce this place up before the preliminaries for the Games begin."

"But I don't think I can – "

"What? Of course you can, you joker," said the short man comically. "Always such a kidder. But seriously, can you move that pedestal for me? You'd be doing me a huge favor."

The little guy seemed very excited for the Games and Sora didn't have the heart to ruin it for him. So the Spiky-haired scythe wielder marched over to the massive stone block, spat in his hands for reasons never to be explained, clapped them together, and then shoved the pedestal with his shoulder. Predictably, the block didn't budge – the thing weighed a ton! When pushing didn't work, Sora unfurled Crescent Rose's Scythe Mode and buried the weapon's blade beneath the rock, seeking to use leverage to move the pedestal. And though he put his whole weight on the scythe, the stone wouldn't move and accidentally dislodged his weapon, sending it flying across the room and stabbed into the wall. His frustration mounting, Sora used the last tactic in his playbook: his kicked it.

"Ow!" yelped Sora, hopping up and down on one foot while hold the other. "Ugh, forget it, man! This thing is way too heavy!"

"What? Too heavy?" said the short man in a shocked tone. "Since when have you been a little – "

The short man turned around on the stool and Sora could swear his jaw had dropped through the floor – his head was a pumpkin with eyes and a mouth! The pumpkin man looked equally stunned once he had a better look at the boy.

"Oh, wrong guy," said pumpkin man, jumping down from the stool. "What are you doing here? This is the staging area for the Grand Magic Games – only personnel staff and competitors are allowed in here. I have my hands full preparing for the preliminaries, so I don't have time to sign any autographs."

"I don't even know who you are," said Sora; the pumpkin man gasped horrifically. "And I'm not trying to compete…well, I'd like to, actually. But first, I wanna know if you've seen any of these people" – he pulled out the picture of Team RWBY – "they've been missing for a while. My friends and I were told that they used to hang out here a lot."

"Hmm…feel like I've seen the blonde one before, but I can't remember," said the pumpkin man, staring at the picture intensely. "I'm sorry, kid, but I don't think I've seen er…Team RWBY around here before. I think I would remember them; they look like a bunch of strong characters."

"Well, thanks anyway," said Sora disappointedly, pocketing the scroll.

"Wish there was something I could do to help," said the pumpkin man, "but I have people coming in from all over Fiore to compete in the Grand Magic Games. There certainly are a lot more of them now since our sponsor decided to open the Games to everyone. Can't say I'm not skeptical about the whole thing. The Games are very dangerous; some of the strongest wizards come to face life-threatening obstacles and fight ferocious monsters."

"Well, I've faced a bunch of monsters," said Sora, thinking about the Grimm. Then he thought about Shiro and the Wretched Egg "And sometimes things even scarier than monsters."

"Really?" said the pumpkin man interestingly. He stood on his tiptoes, moving closer to Sora's face. "Hmm…yes, I can tell you've handled your fair share of battles before, but the Grand Magic Games may be on a whole different level for you. Are you sure you would want to compete?"

"If I could, yeah," Sora nodded.

"Well, I can't stop you from trying," the pumpkin man submitted. He suddenly pulled out a clipboard from out of nowhere. "I just need to know the name of the four members of your party."

"Four members?" asked Sora.

"Yes," said the pumpkin man. "The rules of the Games this year are that each party will be competing in groups of four, no more, no less."

"But…we only have three," Sora mumbled sadly.

"I'm sorry, but rules are rules," said the pumpkin man. "The Grand Magic Games are about to start in twenty minutes and unless you can find a fourth member for your party, I'm afraid you're not eligible to compete. Better luck next year!"

And on that annoyingly cheerful comment, the pumpkin-headed worker trotted back to his stool and went back to work trying to fix the crooked sight; the damn thing just didn't want to stay straight! Sora wanted to argue that he should be allowed to compete, but without a fourth member of their team, they weren't within the Games rules and would probably be at a disadvantage against the teams with full members. The Spiky-haired islander sighed in defeat and miserably dragged his feet out the door.

The noise level outside had dropped considerably since he went in; everyone must have taken their seats before the Games started. For a moment, Sora wondered if Sun and Penny had found any information on Team RWBY, but the boy's mind just went straight back to the Games. He just knew it would have been an amazing experience, to compete with amazing warriors from across the kingdom in front of a creaming crowd. It was the kind of thing he and Riku liked to pretend back on the Islands. But….

"Ooh, tough luck, kid," said a smooth voice. "But then again, rules exist for a reason, don't they? Of course, I've never been particularly fond of them myself."

Sora turned around and found Roman Torchwick leaning casually against the wall, lighting a fresh cigar.

"Who're you?" asked Sora.

"I've been called a lot of things, and not all of them are good," said Torchwick smoothly, walking over with a lively twirl of his cane. "But in this case, you can call me a talent agent."

"Talent agent?" repeated Sora.

"Kid, I like the look in your eyes," said Torchwick, leaning on his cane. "You've got a fire I haven't seen since Ruby Rose."

"You knew Ruby?" gasped Sora. Finally, he caught a break!

"Oh yeah, I knew her real well," said Torchwick enthusiastically. "That little red was always running around places, sticking her nose where she shouldn't, and just generally causing mischief wherever she went. Last time I saw her must have been…woo, I've lost count of how long it's been. But I'll tell ya, that little red sure left a mark on me."

"Do you know where she went?" asked Sora.

"Can't say, kid," said Torchwick, smirking when the boy visibly deflated. "But I know where you're going, Kid. The Grand Magic Games!" – he grabbed Sora by the shoulder and pulled him close – "I can see it now, kid! You and your team standing on the podium accepting the golden cup from the king himself as crowds chant your name."

"That does sound nice," Sora nodded dreamily. "But Sun, Penny, and I only make up three members. We need a fourth one to compete and I don't know where we're going to find one in the next…seventeen minutes."

"Kid, this must be destiny," said Torchwick, shaking Sora's shoulder playfully. "Because it just so happens that I have a free client that's been dying to compete in the Games, but is sorely lacking in team members. You interested? Of course you are. Hey, Neo, come out and introduce yourself to our new friend!"

Sora turned his head to where Torchwick was facing and jumped when he saw a young woman standing only feet from him; she literally appeared from nowhere! She was a fragile-looking thing that barely stood equal with Sora in height, her long hair a mixture of brown and pink with white streaks inside the pink, and had heterochromia eyes: one pink, one brown. She wore a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants, and gray boots with very high heels. The strange new woman named Neo smiled teasingly, casually twirling the parasol she carried over her shoulder to block out the sun.

"Where'd she come from?" yelled Sora surprisingly.

"That's just one of her many tricks," said Torchwick playfully. "She might look like it, but she definitely one of the toughest customers you'll ever come across. You know that blondie on Red team, er…"

"Yang?" Sora offered.

"Yeah, her," Torchwick nodded. "She and Neo used to be old sparing buddies, so you know she can rough it with the best of them. Trust me, kid, with Neo on your side, there's no way you can lose. That Cup is as good as yours."

"That's awesome!" cheered Sora. "But wait, what do you get out of this? Sun always says that people don't do anything for free."

"Sun's a smart guy," said Torchwick, blowing a puff. "There's a big cash prize for the winner of the Grand Magic Cup. Since I'm giving up my best client to you, it's only right that I get an equal share of the profits. Say, twenty five percent."

"Fifteen," Sora countered."

"Twenty-five."

"Twenty."

"Twenty-five."

"Deal!" said Sora, shaking the businessman's hand.

"You are not good at this bartering thing, are ya, kid?" said Torchwick, chuckling. "Good Luck, kid. I'm pulling for you, little shorty."

As Torchwick walked away, Sora wasted no time pulling out the Scroll and calling Sun and Penny about the good news. But first he needed Neo to show him how to use it.

* * *

"Explain to me again where you found her," said Sun, eyeing Neo suspiciously.

"I told you," said Sora exasperatedly; he had told the story thirty times already. "I was looking for someone that might know Ruby and the others and I met a guy who said he was old friends with Ruby. He doesn't know where Ruby is now, though. But anyway, Neo works for him and she really wants to compete in the Grand Magic Games, but she doesn't have any teammates. So I figured if their friends with Ruby, then we should help them out, right?"

"Well, there's no point in complaining about it now," said Penny. "We're already here."

The audience broke out into another wave of cheers as the next, and hopefully, last team entered the coliseum from the tunnel. There must have been well over a million people seated in the stands the circled the battleground; their yells could probably have been heard from the opposite side of the city. Inside the arena itself, the entire area was jammed back with hundreds of teams consisting of four people each, many of them keeping to themselves, and other greeting the competition like old friends. Sora and his team of Sun, Penny, and Neo were somewhere off the northern side of the stadium, between a group of men with biceps the size of Sora's head and another group of men applying makeup and doing their hair.

"Hey, that's Team SRLT over there," said Sun, gesturing to a group of four men in the distance. "They're a team I knew from Mistral. They got pretty far in the Vytal Tournament before the Battle of Beacon.

"And I think I see Team ORKD from Atlas," Penny said chipper. "I guess that means Hunters from the other kingdoms survived the Cataclysm."

"And all of them found their way here," said Sora excitedly with his hands behind his head. "Maybe we can ask them if they've seen Ruby or any of them. Oh, but we'll definitely win the Games first," he added to Neo, who nodded with a smile. "You don't really talk much, do you?"

"I can't put my finger on it, but she does look familiar," said Penny, looking at the new girl more closely. Though the others didn't notice, Neo bit her lip and casually turned her head so that the android couldn't get a good look of her face. "Yeah, I definitely feel like I've seen her face somewhere before…. Say, aren't you - ?"

Any form of interrogation Penny had prepared was prematurely ended by a din of trumpets echoing from the sky and everyone tilted their heads upwards – Neo held a hand to her chest and released a breath. Sora nearly fell over himself when he saw a twenty foot holographic projection of the pumpkin headed employee from earlier. The mascot must be really popular; the crowd was beside themselves with excitement upon his appearance.

" **Attention everyone wishing to compete in this year's Grand Magic Games!** " said the pumpkin man; his voice boomed through the coliseum. " **Due to the Games becoming open to the general public and the overwhelming response, the number of teams participating this year is one hundred and eighty-seven! That just won't do! So to narrow the teams down to a more manageable six, let's begin the preliminary rounds!** "

"Makes sense," said Sun. "If you letting everyone participate, there are bound to be hundreds of people looking for a shot at the title."

"But how are they going to decide the six teams allowed to compete?" asked Sora.

" **The rules for this preliminary round are simple!** " the pumpkin man continued. " **All of you will be participating in a race! Only the first six teams to reach the finish line will go on to compete in the Grand Magic Games! You're free to us magic and whatever tools you have any way you see fit! There are no restrictions! But remember: only the first six teams to reach the finish line will clear this round! Oh, and one more thing…. The Grand Magic Games is in no way responsible for any injury or loss of life that may occur in the Labyrinth.** "

"Did he say 'loss of life'?" screamed Sora.

"That shouldn't be anything new for us; we just came from a place called Deadman Wonderland," said Penny, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "But what's this about a labyrinth?"

Just as she had said that, a great glowing circle etched with an intricate design appeared in the air above the coliseum and steadily started to rise towards the clouds. As it climbed higher and higher, something began to materialize beneath the circle. It was a massive mass of stone, steel, and clockwork that looked like it had been hastily slapped together and compressed into a misshapen ball; it gave the impression of miniaturized metal moon. When the floating labyrinth had finished materializing and the magic circle had vanished, a flight of wooden steps suddenly appeared in front of Sora and his team leading to the jumbled maze. When the spiky-haired islander looked around, he saw that similar stairs had appeared in front of the other contestants as well.

" **And without further ado,** " said the pumpkin man, " **let the Grand Magic Games preliminary round, Sky Labyrinth, begin!** "

The effect of the words was almost instant. Like a roar of thunder rumbling across the world, thousands upon thousands of feet stomped the ground and stampeded up the wooden walkways. Sora looked back and forth very fast at a loss for words.

"Sora, what are you waiting for?" called Sun and Sora snapped out of his stupor. Sun and Penny were already halfway up the stairway with Neo leading the way. "You're the one that wanted to compete! Don't fall behind now!"

"Uh – right!" shouted Sora.

He took off at blinding speed up the walkway, easily catching up to his team in a few short seconds. Had he not been preoccupied with winning the preliminaries, Sora might have wondered how he suddenly became so much fast in the span of a couple of weeks. All around the coliseum, teams were climbing the wooden sky roads same as them, though some teams didn't wait to reach the labyrinth before deciding to eliminate the competition.

On the walkway to the right of Sora's team, a pale-skinned girl with short black hair dotted with three white spots suddenly crouched in the middle of the stairs and pulled a sniper rifle over her shoulder. Seconds later, she shot four bullets that knocked the team next to her off the path before shouldering her rifle and chasing her teammates. From the path on the opposite side, Sora saw a blonde man shoot a white laser from his mouth and destroyed another team's walkway, leaving them unable to reach the labyrinth. It was complete chaos. Fires and explosions were flying everywhere and they hadn't even reached the entrance yet. One stray fireball came flying at Sun, but Neo suddenly jumped in front and deflected the flames with her parasol; the delicate sunshade was surprisingly unmarred.

"Thanks," said Sun gratefully. Neo nodded.

"This is insane," said Sora, watching another team sent flying. "The round only just started."

"It's only going to get worse once we're inside," said Penny. "We're here!"

Sora let out a sigh of relief when they finally reached the inside of the flying metal sphere…only to realize he had done so prematurely. Sky Labyrinth had certainly lived up to its name and more, in Sora's opinion. Rather than just creating an ordinary flat maze, the interior of the metal globe had been rippled and twisted into what could only be described as a three-dimensional puzzle. Narrow paths that could only be walked vertically, doors floating along the air, stairways that went up and down in a perpetual loop, blocks of flooring that shifted position every three seconds; Sora's head hurt just thinking about it.

"Anyone else feels like they might get sick?" asked Sun. Four hands raised in the air. "Oh, good, it's not just me."

"That pumpkin guy said we have to be one of the first six to reach the finish line," said Sora, scratching his spiky head. "But he didn't tell us where the finish line is. Huh, what is it, Neo?" he asked with the multicolored girl tucked on his sleeve. She cupped her hands together make a circle and pressed it against her chest. "What is it? Er…chest? Heart? Boobs? OW!" – Penny slapped him over the head – "uh…ribs? Lungs? Torso? Center?"

Neo nodded quickly and pointed at Sora.

"You think it's at the center?" Sora repeated; Neo nodded again.

"That'd make sense," said Sun. "If everyone was coming from outside the labyrinth at the same time, that'd put them at equal distance from the finish line. The Games committee would try to keep things fair."

"But how're we supposed to find the center inside this…thing?" said Sora, having no better word to describe the insanity of the Sky Labyrinth.

"I have an internal compass," said Penny. Sora, Sun, and Neo perked up. "Let's see….We entered the Labyrinth at west by north-west. Which means, if we want to find the finish line at the center of the maze, we'll have to travel east by south-east – that way!" she said pointing in the direction.

"That's for the heads up, losers!"

Sora, and his team tilted their heads back, following the voice a level above them in curiosity. A group of four thuggish-looking men loomed overhead, holding their weapons in a menacing fashion and cackling like a bunch of stereotypical delinquents, though to Sora, they hardly seemed threatening. The leader of the group – the guy carrying the mace – was particularly dumb-looking; you could tell by the way one of his eyes was off-center and that was a huge bald spot that nearly blinded Sora from the sun glare.

"Oh my Oum, it's Team CRDL," groaned Sun, sounding more annoyed than scared. "How the hell are they still alive?"

"You know these guys?" asked Sora curiously.

"They were a bunch of bullies from Beacon Academy," Penny explained nonchalantly. "Of course, they spent more time picking on the students than actually doing their homework and got expelled when Beacon was rebuilt. They have a reputation as the worst team in Remnant history; all four of them once got their butts kicked by a baby Boarbatusk."

"And they think they can win in the Grand Magic Games," said Sora dumfounded. "I don't know whether they're brave or stupid."

"Definitely stupid," said Sun and Penny together; Neo nodded.

"Don't talk about us like we're not here!" the thuggish leader yelled, stamping his foot childishly. "We don't need that kind of trash talk from a bunch of wimps like you! Once we kick your butts, we'll just be making our way to the – "

But before the thuggish leader of Team CRDL could explain where they were going next, a blur of white and pink color flashed through the air and crashed on top of them. The floor exploded where the D-list villains stood; the force of the unexplained impact created a huge cloud of dust and nearly knocked Sora off his feet. The spiky-haired islander could have sworn he heard something that sounded like bones snapping and the CRDL leader scream: "AHH! MY LEGS!" So when the smoke cleared and Sora's team saw the old school bullies whimper on their ground – their legs bending the wrong way – they were doubly shocked when the attacker was none other than –

"Nora Valkyrie!" Sora, Sun, and Penny shouted together; Neo covered her mouth in shock.

"I've wanted to do that for fourteen years!" cheered Nora, dancing over the sobbing CRDL leader. "I said I'd break your legs and I did! I'M QUEEN OF THIS CASTLE, BITCHES!"

"Nora!" called Sora. The redhead turned around, only just now noticing him.

"Oh, hey, Sora!" Nora waved in a chipper tone. "Pretty awesome Games, huh?"

"What're you doing here?" asked Sun.

"We're competing in the Games, duh!" said Nora like it was the most obvious thing.

"We?" Sora repeated.

"Yeah, Team JNPR," said Nora, grinning from ear-to-ear. "OH – MY – OUM, it's been so long since we were a team! I told Jaune, I said: 'Jaune, old buddy, old pal, old friend, when was the last time we got out and slayed some monsters and beat up bad guys together as a team, just the four of us?' Jaune said he didn't wanna get Pyrrha hurt because she's not as healthy as she used to be. Isn't he just the sweetest? But then I said, 'Jaune, let's enter the Grand Magic Games together. There's no way Pyrrha would get hurt in the Games, right? Jaune still didn't wanna, but you know my motto: NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER! FIGHT! FIGHT! FI – "

"NORA!"

Sora and the others leaned back; Ren's head was poking out from another level above them.

"Coming, Ren!" said Nora giddily; Ren rolled his eyes and disappeared. "Whelp, catch ya later, Sora! WHEE!"

Nora set herself up to the ride her rocket-powered hammer and took off into the sky with a pull of the trigger. All the while, Sora, Sun, Penny, and Neo watched leave open-mouthed.

"I am frightened to know what goes on in that psychotic head of hers," said Sun.

"So Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren and competing too," said Sora, frowning. "And last time, Jaune kicked my butt. Ugh, and I get the feeling they're not the worst ones."

* * *

A mighty crash echoed through the air and famed Kagura Mikazuchi dropped on her front, bruised and battered from head-to-toe, her word, Archenemy, clattering beside her, broken in two. Lying on the ground around her were the members of her guild, Mermaid Heel, more or less in a similar state as their leader. Their conquerors stood on the opposite side of the wide stretch of road, panting with exhaustion and some of them showing signs of injury themselves, though nothing as bad as Mermaid Heel.

The leader of the group was out in front, her hand over her fiercely beating heart, lowering her cannon. She was very short in comparison to the rest of her team (their tallest teammate stood a full head above her) with midnight-blue hair tied into choppy pigtails. The woman on her right was the sniper Sora had seen at the start of the preliminaries; sweat dripping from her face down to her open cleavage. To the left of the leader was a woman with flawless olive skin and silky-smooth chestnut hair; she was the image of a human goddess. And standing in the back nursing a black eye was a very tall Bear Faunus woman with rich mocha skin and fluffy honey-blonde hair.

"That…that was…painful," said the leader tiredly.

"Easy for you to say," grunted the sniper, popping her shoulder. "You can heal from any injury."

"That…doesn't mean…it doesn't…hurt," panted the leader.

"We were heading east last I remember," said the flawless goddess. "So that means we should be heading west."

"Ooh, I'm so exicted to win I can hardly _bear_ it," said the B ear Faunus. Her teammates groaned loudly.

"I regret the day we ever let you meet that Xiao-Long girl!" yelled the leader irritably.

* * *

Lyon Vastia and Jura Neekis of Lamia Scale flew through the air and collided back-to-back – the impact ringing like a clap of thunder – and dropped to the floor with pained grunts. Their other teammates, Sherry and Yuka, were not too far away, both of them crumpled on the ground like their more powerful comrades, unable to move. Jura was out cold from the fight, but Lyon struggled with all his might to push himself back up. He failed; his arms gave out and he dropped back on the floor. The white-haired wizard glared at the enemies who had so effortlessly defeated him and one of the most powerful men in Fiore.

They were all so small – the size of children, in fact – yet now they stood above the defeated Lamia Scale. The child in front was, for some reason, dressed in a sailor uniform with white cat ears poking out of her mop of brunette hair and a white cat tail swishing under her skirt. The twins in the background were fashioned similarly – the blond girl had brown monkey ears and a tail and the brunette had floppy dog ears and a tail. The girl in the pink dress might have been able to pass for normal if it wasn't for the orange pig ears and horns sprouting from her head.

Rather than celebrate their victory over one of the most powerful guilds in all of Fiore, the cat girl was stamping her feet childishly and shaking her fist at….the author?

"This sucks!" yelled the Cat Girl. "We used to be popular! We had a manga, merchandise, one cour in our anime – I made into a Nendroid for Manager's sake! So how'd we get bumped down to making a cameo in some crappy fanfiction?"

"Nya-tan, don't go upsetting the author," said the pig girl nervously.

"But it's not fair!" cried Nya-tan; waterfalls of tears pours from her eyes. "We – we used to be popular! And now…and now…we're nobodies! We've fallen into obscurity! WAAH!"

"Don't give up, Nya-tan!" said the dog girl vigorously.

"Maybe if we win the Grand Magic Games," said the monkey girl, "we'll become super popular again and the produces will renew us for a second season!"

"You're right!" shouted Nya-tan, suddenly cheerful. "We can become popular again if the readers she us winning the Grand Magic Games! Why else would the author put us in the story? Inu-tan, Ki-tan, Uri-tan! Let's win the Grand Magic Games and regain our popularity!" she finished, pumping her fist in the air; the dog girl and monkey girl joined in.

"I doubt the producers will see a small time fanfiction from another country," said Uri-tan, sweat dropping.

* * *

"MEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!" screamed Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki as he fell over the edge of the Sky Labyrinth.

The man with the unfortunate facial features was soon followed by his pretty boy followers, the Trimen, and the four of them plummeted together to Fiore. One of their assailants leaned over the edge; a wicked grin crossed his sharp face when the members of Blue Pegasus hit the ground and a cloud of dirt and smoke exploded in their place. The man with a sadistic smile had short blond hair that pointed in every direction with a thin scar over his eyebrow while the gloomy looking man standing next to him with his arms cross had messy black hair that covered the right side of his face, obscuring one of his blood-red eyes. With them also was a white-haired woman draped in a feathery cloak, watching the events transpire with a blank expression.

"Man, that was too easy," said the blonde man, laughing mockingly. "And those wimps dare to call themselves a guild. That trash doesn't deserve to set foot in the Grand Magic Games."

"I think we've already wasted our time on these weaklings," said the gloomy man, looking around. "And it looks like we also lost one of our members."

"Yeah, come to think of it, I haven't seen that guy in a while," said the blonde man, scratching his head. He turned to the feathery woman and asked, "Hey, Yukino, where the hell did the new guy go? Uh…what was his name…Xiao-Long?"

"Mr. Xiao-Long went on ahead," said Yukino monotonously. "He thinks he may have found the finish line already and got tired of waiting for you two to finish."

"Grr…that bastard," growled the blonde man. "The new guy thinks he's better than the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth? Well, we'll show him. After we mop the floor with these weaklings, we'll definitely show him whose boss."

"Do whatever you wish," said the gloomy man, walking away from his partner. "I honestly don't care."

"Ah great, he's moody again," groaned the blonde man. "Freakin' emo."

* * *

"Outta the way!" Sun yelled as he slammed another contest with Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, sending him over the edge of the labyrinth.

Much like the other contestants in Sky Labyrinth, Sora and his team began encountering one group after another seeking to eliminate them from the competition, thereby increasing their chances of victory. But in comparison to fighting the Grimm and the Deadmen from the previous world, their opponents hardly proved to be much of a challenge.

Sora zooms through the air using Crescent Rose's recoil as a boost and sweeps the scythe across the legs of three enemies, knocking them into the air, then uses the recoil again to swing the weapon around and send them flying. Another group was charging toward them from the level below, but Penny cut them off by stabbing her Marionette Blades through the staircase and pulling at the wires, shattering the steps and watching them plummet to the bottom. A ravenous war cry alerted them as another team freefell above them, but Sun jumped to meet them in their air, beating them into submission with Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in in nunchaku form. The golden monkey Faunus landed coolly on the ground as the bodies fell around him, but grimaced when he looked over to the fourth member of their team.

Neo was sitting on a stone block watching the fighting with a mildly amusing smile, twirling her parasol leisurely. She had been sitting out the entire fight. The only time she had actually moved in the fight was when Penny had punched one of the competitors in the face and Neo ducked so that he would fly over her. Sun smacked another enemy across the face, shoving them over the edge, and stomped over to her. The ice cream-themed woman stared up him, still smiling even though the Faunus was glaring.

"You know we're doing this for you, right?" asked Sun irritably. "The least you could do is help."

Neo nodded and tilted her head to the side, noticing that a member from the rivaling teams was trying to sneak up on Sun. She closed her parasol and jabbed it underneath Sun's arm, poking the other competitor in the stomach. While he was doubled over, Neo flipped her Parasol around, hooked the man around by the neck, and pulled him closer to her. The opponent barely managed to sputter an apology before the ice cream-themed woman kicked his face to the right, then to the left, and then closed the deal with a rising kick to the chin. Neo unhooked her parasol from his neck and the adversary dropped on the ground like a sack of potatoes. She smiled up at Sun again, unfolding her parasol once more.

"Okay…that's better," said Sun with uncertainty.

"I think that's the last of them!" called Sora, just finish up with an opponent he kicked over the edge. "There're lots more of them around here than before."

"That must mean we're getting close to the finish line," said Penny.

"It's the final stretch," said Sun, grinning confidently. "Grand Magic Games, here we come!"

"YEAH!" Sora and Penny cheered; Neo did a tiny fist pump.

"Eh, you guys think yo' gonna make it before me? That's some confidence ya got there."

Sora, Penny, and Sun blinked and looked toward the staircase in front of them; Neo shot a sharp glare when they weren't looking. A man stumbled up the steps, swaying here and there, nearly falling over the edge several times, and hiccupping with a glazed look in his eye. He was very tall and extremely muscular; wearing steel plated armor that only covers his arms and exposes his chest, with slicked back hair that was tied in a bun underneath a white cloth. He carried a gourd in his hand that, judging by the sloshing sound it was making, must have been used for drinking. Between his unsteady movements and the smell of strong alcohol wafting off of him, it didn't take a genius to figure out what was wrong with him.

He's drunk.

The plastered fighter reached the top step of the staircase, but nearly tripped over his own feet and stumbled a little closer than he had intended. He caught himself a little ways from them, tilting back to keep his head raised, hiccupping with a delirious look on his face. Even though he was smashed to the point where he could barely stand, the muscular warrior knocked back the gourd and guzzled the alcohol down like there was no tomorrow. Sora stared at him is disbelief.

"Ya know, I like guys like you," said the drunk. "And Bacchus ain't the type that's easily impressed."

"Bacchus?" said Penny with a raised brow. "Like the god of wine?"

"That explains a lot," said Sun blankly.

"Y'all…y'all have some guts in ya, that's fo' sure," said Bacchus, giggling feverishly. "Lotta people comin' 'round here thinking they can take on the Grand Magic Games until they realize they're playing with the big dogs, then they run away like lil puppies with their tails between their legs. But you guys ain't puppies, are ya? Yeah, I can see it in your eyes. Those are the eyes of people who have seen things. The kinda things that send shivers down your spine. And it makes my soul _wild!_ "

He leaned back for another swig, only succeeding to fall on his back. Sora and the others sweat dropped; Bacchus laughed himself stupid at the predicament.

"I don't know whether to fight him or to carry him home," said Sora.

"Okay, man, you are way too hammered to be here," said Sun, stepping over to the drunkard. "Time to get u – "

Quick as a flash, Bacchus shot up and slammed the monkey Faunus' face with his palm. Sora and Penny stared open-mouthed as their partner was thrown across the air, through a stone column, and landed on a stairway with his stomach, half hanging over the edge. The groan from the Faunus told them enough that he was still alive, but he wasn't getting up any time soon. Sora and Penny turned back to Bacchus, gnashing their teeth angrily as the plastered fight started wobbling back and forth on his tiptoes, flailing his arms and cackling senselessly.

"Hey, hey, what 'appened ta all that spirit?" said Bacchus dizzily. "C'mon now, think ya man enough ta take on the best of Quarto Cerberus. Y'all best bring you're A-game, 'cause we're 'bout ta get _wild!_ "

Swords drawn and Scythe unfolded, Sora and Penny leaped across the platform swinging at Bacchus; Neo was still sitting around, smiling without a care in the world.

Penny was the first to go on the offensive; she threw her arms out and sent her Marionette Blade flying. The drunken fighter just laughed as he tilted this way and that way without any form or rhythm, yet somehow successfully dodging each sword with little effort. Though the swords had failed, Sora quickly followed up by moving as close to Bacchus as he could and swung Crescent Rose around for his chest. The spiky-haired islander's jaw dropped as his opponent leaned so far back by his knees that he was actually parallel with the floor, yet didn't fall over. Sora didn't realize that Bacchus had prepared a counter until the drunkard's foot connected with the back of his head. The scythe wielder stumbled a little, rubbing the sore spot on his head, and turned to face Bacchus, only for the drunken fist master to have a direct shot at his chest with an open palm strike.

Sora slid across the floor and over the edge; panic rose up in his chest and the spiky-haired boy quickly hooked Crescent Rose's teeth into the platform to keep himself from falling. The boy let out a sigh of relief; he was still in the game. Sora cautiously climbed up Crescent Rose's shaft – he couldn't risk dislodging the teeth by moving too fast. When he finally reached then top and pulled himself up, he gapped as he witnessed Bacchus effortlessly knock down Penny after tying her up in her own strings, laughing crazily to himself.

The spiky-haired islander growled in irritation. He ripped Crescent Rose out of the floor and shifted to Gun Mode, taking a shot at Bacchus's gourd as he prepared to take a drink. It was a clean shot – there was a hole in the middle of the gourd and alcohol spilled on the floor. It took a moment before Bacchus realized that there wasn't any alcohol coming out and finally took notice of the new feature to his liquor bottle. It took an additional minute before his fuzzy brain could put two and two together.

"Ya still got some fight left in ya, eh, kid?" said Bacchus, sounding very excited all of a sudden. "Not gonna way like them other puppies, are ya?"

"I've fought bigger and scarier monsters than you," said Sora confidently.

"Now that's _wild_!" said Bacchus, laughing as he moved into a crouched stance. "You, sir, are a real man. Or half of one at least. It sends my soul aquiver. It's –"

"Let me guess, _wild_?" said Sora tauntingly.

Bacchus laughed at the joke. At least he had a good sense of humor, Sora thought.

Bacchus took a small step toward the boy and Sora held Crescent Rose with his finger on the trigger when Neo suddenly stepped in between the two; both men stared at her surprisingly. Neo gave a self-assured smile at Sora before turning to Bacchus, gesturing her hand as if telling him to 'Bring it'. It was hard for the scythe-wielder to feel confident in his teammate, especially when he easily knocked around Penny and Sun. Bacchus, to his credit, looked more disappointed at the arrangement that outwardly mocking her as most men would.

"Huh? What's this?" said Bacchus with a raised brow. "Lit lady, you'd best move on outta the way. This is a _wild_ fight between men. We don't want ya getting hurt."

Neo made a scoffing sound and sauntered up to the drunken master with a hint of swagger in her step, folding her parasol to her side, until she was directly beneath him. The difference in height was overwhelming; Neo barely came up to Bacchus's chest. But the ice cream-themed woman showed not the slightest concern; if anything, she seemed somewhat amused. Bacchus had to crane his head to look down at the little lady and let out a chuckle, a wicked grin crossing his face.

"Baby, you're _wild_ ," said Bacchus. "Takes a lotta guts to stand up to a man like me. But honey, you ain't got nothing on this. Don't blame me if you get hurt, cause it's about to get _wild_ up in here!"

Bacchus pulled back his fist and took a swing at Neo, but, to Sora's amazement, the drunken master suddenly back away as if he had been slapped in the face. The blow had been so fast that Sora barely saw it in time. That same smug grin was still painted on Neo's face as she opened her parasol again, resting the sunshade on her shoulder. Bacchus's _wild_ confidence seemed shaken, but was not deterred.

The drunken boxer dashed forward, throwing a flurry of palm strikes at the ice cream-themed woman, who seemingly danced around his hands with every elegant step, though there was a part of Sora that told him she wasn't putting forth much effort. When his palm strikes weren't proving to be enough, Bacchus began including several jabs, elbows, and kicks into the mixture, but Neo dodged each blow regardless and making it look easy. The only sign that Bacchus was making any headway in the fight was pushing Neo back by several feet as she swayed through the hurricane of strikes. Bacchus attempted a roundhouse kick, but Neo ducked beneath his leg and shot a sharp kick into the man's exposed backside, throwing him on the floor.

Bacchus turned around onto his back and stared up at the small woman, who was smirking tauntingly.

"Baby, you're even more _wild_ than I thought," said Bacchus, grinning eagerly.

Neo responds to the statement with a flipping drop kick on top of Bacchus's head, but the drunken master rolls away and springs back up to his feet. Bacchus rushed back in with another open palm strike, but Neo redirects the attack over her shoulder with her hand while keeping her back to her opponent, then pulls off an amazing high kick that nails Bacchus in the teeth. While the Drunken fighter is disoriented, Neo pulls away and hits Bacchus with an excellent side kick that throws him backwards by several feet. Bacchus quickly recovers, but Neo is already on top of him, executing an amazing six kick combo to the stomach followed by a backflip high kick, knocking the man off his feet. And with one final smirk, the ice cream-themed woman spun on her heel and kicked Bacchus in the stomach while in midair, knocking him over the edge of the platform.

" _WWWWWWIIIIIILLLLLLDDDDDD!_ " screamed Bacchus, his voice sounding further and further away.

Neo leaned over the edge to appraise her work; she looked very satisfied.

"Wow, Neo, that was amazing!" said Sora praisingly. "You kicked his butt like it was nothing! Now I know we'll win the Grand Magic Games for sure!"

Turned her head and covered her mouth daintily; it looked like she was blushing.

"I better help Sun and Penny up," said Sora, looking over his fallen comrades. "But after that, we're headed to the Games, just you wait!"

But while the scythe wielder went to help his friends, he never noticed that, underneath her hand, Neo held a malicious smile.

* * *

Roman Torchwick had been watching the preliminaries from his private viewing box above the rest of coliseum; being a wealthy sponsor of the Grand Magic Games had its perks. He had been watching Sora's team through his scroll (he may or may not have planted a hidden camera in the boy's hood; you can't prove anything!) and chuckled to himself as he watched Neo pummel the drunk over and over again. He knew she was just showing off for him.

Yes, everything was working smoothly as he had hoped, Torchwick thought to himself as he started dialing a number in his scroll. Now for the next step. Torchwick finished inputting the number and held the scroll up to his ear, waiting for the man on the other side to pick up. After three rings, he scroll finally clicked.

" _ **What?**_ " said an irritated voice on the other side.

"Mr. Xiao-Long, good to here from you," said Torchwick smoothly. "So, how are things going?"

"I had Sabertooth cross the finish line first like you want," said Mr. Xiao-Long. "They're set to move on to the Games."

"Great, great," said Torchwick flippantly. "Anyway, I have another job for you. There's this kid – kinda short, atrocious fashion sense, clearly been using way too much hair gel – yeah, I need him taken care of. Nothing fancy. Just need you to beat the brat until he's a blob of blood and gel products on the floor. Got it?"

"The great Roman Torchwick is afraid of a kid?" said Mr. Xiao-Long tauntingly; Torchwick gritted his teeth angrily. "Sorry, but my contract says – "

"I know!" yelled Torchwick angrily. "You think I don't know? I wrote the contract! I know it says you're only required to assist Sabertooth in winning the Grand Magic Games, and handing over your share of the profit to me, but this is about more than just winning the cash. It's about your little girls."

"…you don't know anything," said Mr. Xiao-Long, speaking in a dangerous low tone of voice. "If you even had the slightest clue, you would have – "

"It's true, I don't know where they are," Torchwick admitted. "But the kid does. He has something that belongs to the little red and I thought he might have something to do with what happened to her. As a loving father, I would think you'd be concerned enough to look into it, for your daughter's sakes."

"If you're lying to me, Torchwick," said Mr. Xiao-Long, "there won't be any place in any world that you will hide from me."

There was a click on the other end; he had hung up.

"Yeesh, the whole family is a pain in the neck," said Torchwick, dialing in a new number. "Still…suckers like him are hard to come by."

* * *

 **And we finally make it to Crocus and the Grand Magic Games, which is what I have been looking forward to most out of this entire story, because the Grand Magic Games arc was my favorite of Fairy Tai because they were actual games instead of another straightforward tournament. I plan to do all five rounds of the competition between worlds with a different cast of characters to make the Games more interesting. And if you haven't figured it out yet (though I'm sure most of you have), Sora's team will be receiving a fourth member (that is not Neo, because she's a bad girl). They won't be appearing until later in the story, so look forward to it.**

 **Also, if you have the time, check out the newest chapter of We Are SHDO on my page. Until then, please read and review.**


	11. Never-Ending Tail, Part 2

**Chapter Ten: Never-Ending Tail, Part 2**

Sora shot through the air on the recoil of Crescent Rose and landed in between the members of the latest team they encountered – squad of adolescent mutated reptiles trained in the ancient art of ninjutsu. When the spiky-haired scythe wielder touched the ground between them, his finger immediately went to Crescent Rose's trigger and shot at the ground, using the recoil to spin the scythe in a full circle. The purple turtle was the first to get smacked across the face by the scythe's blunt end and was sent over the edge of the walkway, but the other three jumped out of the way before it could connect. But what the humanoid reptiles failed to realize was that this had already been planned out. And so while the turtles were still in the air, Sun jumped out and kicked the orange turtle in the shell and Penny commanded her blades to fly at the red turtle, sending them both flying out of Sky Labyrinth. That just left the blue turtle on his own.

The katana wielding ninja landed and turned around to Sora, Sun, and Penny, who were forming a semi-circle around him with their weapons at the ready. The eyeholes of the turtle's mask narrowed, most likely because he was either glaring at them or was really focused. The ninja reptile took a step to the side –

 _ **SMACK!**_

He hit the ground face first with Neo standing over his crumpled form, parasol held out like a bat before she replaced it on her shoulder and unfolded the chute. She tapped the unconscious turtle with the tip of her boot as if he were something undesirable, pushing him across the floor until her rested on the edge and then kicked him in the shell to send him over. Neo then pulled out a handkerchief from her coat pocket and bended down to wipe her boot, making a disgusted look at the green spot that appeared on the pristine cloth, and threw it away. Sora and the others walked over to join her, replacing their weapons in their proper places.

"Either these guys are super weak," said Sora confidently, "or we're just that good."

"You say that even after we nearly got beaten by a drunken master," said Penny pointed.

"Hey, that guy sucker punched me!" shouted Sun indignantly. "In a real fight, I would have taken him out with both hands and my tail tied behind my back!"

"It was a good thing Neo was there to help," said Sora gratefully. Neo covered her mouth and looked away all shyly.

"Yeah, there was something about the way she fought," said Penny thoughtfully. "I know I've seen those moves somewhere before…. I just can't put my finger on in."

Neo started to get anxious again; her fingers drummed against the handle of her parasol ceaselessly and her eyes were looking pointedly away from the Atlesian android, taking a few cautionary steps backwards. And Sora couldn't help noticing this. This was twice now that Penny had brought up mentioning's of the past and both times Neo noticeably clammed up and tried to put distance between herself and the android. As far as Sora knew, the two had never met before…unless they have met before and didn't remember. And if that were the case, Sora's next question had to be: what happened between them?

Sora's musings were interrupted when the pumpkin man's voice echoed through Sky Labyrinth and said:

" **Four teams have already crossed the finish line! Only two more slots remain in the Grand Magic Games! The majority of the teams competing have been knocked out of the competition, but that doesn't mean you should take it easy just yet! You never know what could be waiting just around the corner!** "

"Only two more spots left," said Sun anxiously. "That's bad. There were a hundred and eight-seven teams when the Games started. Even if the rest of the competition knocked out the majority, there's still a bunch of them running around looking for the exit."

"Then we gotta get there first," said Sora determinedly. "Penny, which way do we go next?"

"Hmm…," Penny hummed; Neo looked relieved out of the corner of Sora's eyes. "We were walking west for at least three miles, and then started towards north, which should have put us in the center of the labyrinth. Based on our current level of elevation, I would have to say that the finish line might be…directly below us."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Sun, leaning over the edge. "'Cause it's a long way down from here."

"Absolutely," said Penny. "We'll need to go down at least fourteen levels before we reach the finish line. We should probably search for a stairway or – "

"Or we could just do this!" shouted Sora.

Before either Sun or Penny could have stopped him (Neo made no obvious effort), the boy from the islands leaped over the edge, flipped in the air, and dived towards the bottom. Both of his traveling companions howled in fright (Sun's tail was actually standing on end) and, without even thinking, jumped headfirst over the edge after him. Neo, on the other hand, stepped casually over to the ledge, brushing her chin thoughtful as if contemplating whether she should follow in their example. After a few seconds of thought, the heterochromia woman shrugged her shoulders and skipped off the walkway, popping open her parasol, and loftily descended to the bottom after her teammates.

Sora really didn't have a plan for how he was going to stop himself in freefall when he jumped, but he thought it was a good idea at the time. The many levels of the labyrinth were passing by at blinding speed, but Sora's eyes were sharp and fast enough to keep track of the numbers. He had just passed the tenth level…eleven…twelve…thirteen…. Right there – the fourteenth level! Quick as a flash, Sora whipped out Crescent Rose from the back of his belt, shifted to Gun Mode, and fired off a round to his left; the weapon's recoil threw him in the opposite direction. As the spiky-haired islander was headed towards the floor, Crescent Rose was shifted into Scythe Mode and Sora climbed the weapon to where he was standing on the base like a surfboard. The blade of the scythe was the first to hit the floor, slicing through the stone like a hot knife through butter and slowing down their momentum. The scythe had nearly sliced through the walkway completely before it finally stopped near the edge. Sora got off the weapon, pulled it out of the ground, folded it back to its inactive form, and replaced it on the back of his belt.

"Wow, that went a lot better than I thought," said Sora, sounding surprised.

The spiky-haired islander turned back towards the edge and stared up curiously, wondering if his teammates were following or taking another path, when blur of orange and neon flew in front of him and he tumbled back. It might have been a mistake, but he could have sworn the blur just said "COMBAT READY!" when it flew by. Safe to say, that might have been his friend. And speaking of friends, Sun came sliding down a stray pipeline using the chain of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, dropped and landing on the ground next to Sora. The moment he landed, the monkey Faunus whacked his teammate over the head with his weapon.

"Ow!" yelped Sora.

"That was the single most stupid idea you ever had!" shouted Sun heatedly. "And you've had a lot of stupid ideas in the weeks I've known you."

"By the time we found a way down, someone else would have crossed the finish line before us," Sora argued. "I just figured it'd be a great way to save time. And it worked, didn't it?"

"Oh yeah?" challenged Sun. "Then where's Penny?"

Just as he said that, two of Penny's Marionette Blades flew up over the ledge and stabbed into the ground, pulling the Atlesian Android up to the level.

"There she is," said Sora. And then Neo gracefully descended next to them. "Now the gang's all together."

"Seriously, this kid is gonna be the death of me," grumbled Sun, massaging his forehead. "Penny, did Sora's little suicide plan work? Are we anywhere close to the finish line?"

"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" said Penny, pointing over the Faunus's shoulder.

Both men spin around and their jaws dropped in unison. Somehow, through whatever possible means, they had arrived not on another narrow walkway as they had expected, but in an open field of evergreen grass; a gentle breeze blowing through, making the pasture dance. And if that wasn't crazy enough, the Grand Magic Games committee somehow managed to wedge an entire sky that seemed to open to the heavens above their heads (it was Penny who pointed out that the sky and clouds were just painted on). There was a narrow path of dirt that cut through the grassland, curving over the slopes and into a large medieval stone castle; the front gate was left open and hanging above the entryway was a large, neon sign that said "GOAL" in multicolor.

"These people are insane," said Sun as he snapped out of his stupor, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Seriously, what's the point of putting a huge ass castle in the middle of a labyrinth? It's not exactly subtle…or makes sense."

"Maybe they wanted to make sure teams knew where they were going?" suggested Penny.

"Honestly, I stopped caring at this point," groaned Sun. "And Sora stopped listening two minutes ago…again." He added, pointing across the field.

Sun and Penny let out loud sighs from equal parts exhaustion and exasperation as the supposed leader of their party had already taken off ahead of them without waiting for the rest of his team to catch up. Despite calling himself leader, the kid sure didn't act like it, thought Sun. But nonetheless, the Faunus and the android followed after their spiky-haired teammate, moving at a calm even pace; the finish line was right in front of them, so there was no point in making themselves tired like Sora. But not everyone in their team was following. Neo, with a sinister smirk gracing her face, turned on her heel with her parasol propped over her shoulder, and started walking in the opposite direction.

Sora was nearly halfway there – he would already see the finish line up ahead at the castle gates. All he needed to do was cross the threshold and his team would be in the Grand Magic Games…for Neo, of course. Sora needed to focus on finding his friends and Team RWBY; he totally wasn't doing this because he secretly wanted to compete himself and win that big shiny gold trophy with his name on it. Yes, it was totally out of selflessness, nothing else. But as he reached the top of the final slope, the spiky-haired islander suddenly stopped, allowing Sun and Penny to catch up with him. The duo from Atlas looked at their partner strangely for a moment and then looked ahead, suddenly going into defensive positions.

A man was standing at the threshold of the castle gates, leaning against the wall with his head lowered and his arms crossed, frowning deeply. The man was tall and very masculine (his muscles had muscles!); a mop of messy blonde hair topped his head and extended down his face into a very handsome beard. An intricate black tattoo covered the majority of his right arm, barely visible through the combination of a metal shoulder guard, a leather armbrace, and a brown fingerless glove. He was wearing brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a red bandana on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt, which made him look more like a combination of a body builder and an explorer.

When the trio appeared over the slope, the muscular man raised his head and stared up at them, pushing himself off the wall to stand properly. Sora's hand immediately went to Crescent Rose, but he didn't release his weapon just yet. The guy may look dangerous, but he gave off a friendly sort of aura. Maybe he was the reasonable sort. That's what Sora was inwardly hoping for when the large man reached the bottom of the slope, tilting his head back to look at them standing above. By that time, Sun was swinging both Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang and Penny had unfolded all twelve of her Marionette Blades from her pack and left them hanging in the air above her.

The man leaned his head to the side, possibly trying to assess them, then turned to spit like one of those guys with the awesome hats in the old western movies; Sora couldn't quite remember what they were called. Cow-guys or something like that? Sora didn't really have time to think about that at the moment; the blonde man had raised his finger and pointed it accusingly at Sora.

"Hey, kid, what's your name?"

"Um…Sora?" said Sora, looking a little uncertain. "Uh…nice to meet you…I guess."

"The name's Taiyang Xiao Long," Taiyang addressed himself. "I have a couple of questions for you."

"Xiao Long?" repeated Penny with a surprised look. "Yang's last name was Xiao Long. Are you related to Yang Xiao Long by any chance?"

"She's my daughter, and so is Ruby," said Taiyang; Sun and Penny gapped in amazement. "Hey, don't look so surprised. Then again, it is hard to believe that an incredibly handsome, young-looking man like myself could be the father of two women that should be in their thirties by now. But don't go getting the wrong idea, little lady, because no matter how it looks, you're simply way too young for me."

"Now I know where Yang gets her vanity from," said Sun dryly.

"I know it's probably pointless to ask," said Sora, "but do you know what happened to your daughters?"

"No, and I've been looking for them for the best part of ten years," said Taiyang, hanging his head mournfully. "After my girls disappeared off to who knows where, I was pretty broken up; I didn't even fight back during the Cataclysm that destroyed Remnant. I was hoping the Grimm would just kill me off…but apparently destiny had something else in mind. I wound up in a place called Twilight Town and just spent my days wandering around and drowning myself in booze. Well, at least until Torchwick showed up and got me to work for him."

"WHAT?!" Sun and Penny yelled incredulously; Sora jumped, his heart beating a mile a minute. "YOU'RE WORKING WITH TORCHWICK?!"

"That sounds bad, doesn't it?" said Taiyang, shrugging.

"Who's Torchwick?" asked Sora.

"Roman Torchwick is one of the worst kinds of criminals there is," said Penny, scowling. "He's not particularly dangerous or anything – honestly, he's more on level with a henchman – but he's still the worst kind of person. He lies, cheats, and steals to get his way and he doesn't care who he hurts as long as he gets what he wants. But…" – she turned back to Taiyang – "Torchwick died thirteen years ago. Ruby said she saw him be eaten by a Griffin."

"Apparently he's not as dead as we thought he was," said Taiyang, crossing his arms and frowning. "I was at the bar one night and he just walked up to me, taking about business opportunities or whatever. I wasn't paying attention – I was too hammered. Next thing I know, he has me signing a contract saying I have to help Sabertooth win the Grand Magic Games."

"So then…what're you doing here? All by yourself?" asked Sun suspiciously, spinning his nunchaku even harder. "Where's your team?"

"Sabertooth already crossed the finish line," said Taiyang, gesturing over his shoulder. "But my business is with you, Sora. You see, I just got a call from Torchwick saying something about you knowing where my girls are, and that you had something that belonged to Ruby."

"Wait…you mean Crescent Rose?" said Sora.

The spiky-haired islander reached to the back of his belt, unclipping the weapon, bringing it out in front of him, and unfolding the weapon into its full Scythe Mode. When he saw Crescent Rose, Taiyang couldn't hold back the surprised look on his face; his arms dropping to his sides, his eyes wide in shock, and his mouth agape. None of them said anything, though Sora really wished Sun and Penny would put their weapons away. Sora, personally, couldn't blame Taiyang. It's only been a few weeks since Riku and Kairi went missing and he would give anything to know what happened to them. This was a man – a father – whose only family has been missing for a full decade. Sora was almost sure that the bearded man was just holding himself back not to break down in front of them.

After a long, long moment, Taiyang closed his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath, hanging his head as his fists clenched shakily at his side. He brought one arm up and rubbed it against his eyes before lifting his head once more and staring back at them.

"Yeah…that's it…," said Taiyang in slow, somber tone. "That my…that's Ruby's scythe, all right. She loved that thing more than anything; even more than cookies – and believe me, that's saying something. I guess that means she really is…. Listen, thanks for taking good care of it. Ruby would've been happy knowing that someone was taking care of her baby, but I'll be take it off your hands now." He added, holding out his hand.

"What? You can't take Crescent Rose," said Sora possessively.

"That scythe doesn't belong to you, kid," said Taiyang, scowling. "That scythe was Ruby's most prized possession, and as her father – "

"You can't have Crescent Rose!" Sora repeated, tilting the weapon away from the older man.

"Listen, kid…," growled Taiyang heatedly.

"No, you listen!" snapped Sora. "Crescent Rose is the only clue we have to find my friends – I mean, our friends! If this really did belong to Ruby, then it might be the only thing left that can tell us what happened to them!"

"And have you found anything that can tell me what happened to my girls?" asked Taiyang angrily.

"Well…no…but – " said Sora hesitantly.

"But nothing!" shouted Taiyang, his teeth gnashing. "It's been ten years and no one has heard a word about them! It's time to face facts! My girls…my girls are gone…and there's nothing we can do to bring them back. I spent ten years wasting my hope that some shred of evidence would prove that my girls are still alive, but I don't have anything left to hope on. That scythe is the last thing I have of my daughters, so as a father; I'm begging you…. Please…let me have it."

"…I'm sorry," said Sora somberly. "I can't give this up just yet."

Taiyang lowered his head so that his hairline covered his eyes, arms fallen at his side; Sora could actually feel the depression rolling off of him in waves. The older man's hands clenched tightly. Sun and Penny each took a step in front Sora, standing between him at Taiyang. The spiky-haired islander gulped audibly and reloaded Crescent Rose's ammunition; he knew were this was headed.

"Roman told me to come looking for you hoping that I would destroy you," said Taiyang in a small voice. "I wasn't really planning on it – didn't think I'd have a reason to…. But you just gave me one."

For an old guy, Sora thought, he was pretty light on his feet, as Taiyang leaped forward and closed the distance between them in under a second. The bearded blonde man threw a punch at Penny when they were close in the air and the Atlesian android crossed her arms; the Marionette Blades intersected to form a shield. However, Taiyang's fist effortlessly broken through the barrier (shattering two of Penny's swords) and nailed Penny across the face; they could hear the sound of creaking metal. Penny was propelled backwards and collided with Sora, sending both of them gliding across the field. Sora was the first to recover, stabbing Crescent Rose into the grass to slow his momentum. Penny, however, crashed into the hill and created a large crater in the slope.

Sora pulled his scythe out of the artificial ground, looking back at Penny for a moment, then returned his attention back to Sun and Taiyang. Though the bearded brawler was unbelievably stronger, Sun was much quicker and agile – he was bending around Taiyang's fists and smacked the man across the head with his nunchaku when the opportunity presented itself. It looked like he had the situation under control. That meant he could check up on Penny.

The spiky-haired islander dashed over to the crater and kneeled down next to her. The android was lying face down in the dirt. He could hear the gears and servos and other fancy technical terms Sora didn't know working double-time to get her operational again. And, after a brief period of worrisome silence, Penny groaned, much to Sora's relief, and slowly climbed to her hands and feet.

"Penny!" said Sora worriedly, turning her around. "Penny, you think you can – AHH!"

The android faced Sora with one of her cybernetic eyes dangling from its socket y a narrow cord. Sora knew it wasn't a real eye, but that didn't make it any less creepy.

"What?" asked Penny innocently. Not trusting himself to speak, Sora pointed to his own eye. Penny felt around the area of her face that Sora was referring to and felt the dangling optic sensor. "Oh, that? Don't worry about that, it's fine. See?" – She pushed the eyes back in its socket and twisted it until it made a clicking sound; Sora felt his stomach rumble uncomfortably. "Good as new."

"Yeah, just…just don't do that again," pleaded Sora, shuddering. He offered a hand and pulled Penny up. "Think you're in good shape for a fight?"

"It wouldn't be the first time I was damaged in battle," said Penny optimistically. "After my battle with Pyrrha Nikos, father installed me with an experimental self-reconstruction program. Certainly comes in handy for these types of situations. Although," – she bent down and picked up the two swords broken by Taiyang – "the same does not apply to my weapons, I'm afraid."

"Taiyang just plowed through you like it was nothing," said Sora, looking back to the fight between the man and Sun; the Monkey Faunus was playing an excellent game of keep away. "This isn't gonna be another Red Man situation, is it?"

"Not likely," said Penny confidently, tossing the two useless swords away. "Mr. Xiao Long is monstrously strong; that's to be expected from the man who trained Yang. But we have three advantages. Firstly, there is only one of him and three of us ("Where is Neo, anyway?" asked Sora, looking around), so with have the numbers working in our favor. And as Sun is currently proving, while Mr. Xiao Long is stronger, we have greater speed. And thirdly…well, look at him…."

And Sora did. He watched as the bearded man lunged at Sun with both hands, but the Monkey Faunus effortlessly flipped over the older Hunter, using his head as a push off point, landed behind the man, rapped him in the back of the calf with his bo staff. Taiyang dropped to one knee; he was starting to pant and sweat was dripping from his brow, even though it had only been a few minutes. Clearly forcing himself at this point, Taiyang pushed himself back up, twisted around with his knuckles clenched, and threw a punch at Sun's head. The Monkey Faunus easily sidestepped the fist and hit Taiyang with a windmill kick, causing the older man to stumble.

"He's old, Sora," said Penny, sounding almost remorseful. "He may still be strong, but I assume he's only fight with half his strength. Time has already started to ravage his body, and he's spent the last ten years without training or maintaining his health. He's in a very bad state."

"Sounds kinda sad when you say it like that," said Sora.

"Yeah, yeah, a real tearjerker," shouted Sun, sliding to the bottom of the slope beneath them. "Now do you mind helping out here? The guy might be past his prime, but he's still built like a tank. My weapons aren't gonna cu – OOH!"

Taiyang tackled the Monkey Faunus with his shoulder; Sora could practically hear the bones cracking from where he stood. Though Sun was thrown back by the attack, he still touched ground on his hands and pushed off to land on his free, wincing slightly as he tenderly massaged his ribs. As Taiyang started another charge, Penny jumped down and launched herself at the bearded man, throwing a fist as his face when they were within range. Sadly, Taiyang saw this coming a mile away, blocked the punch with his bare hand, twisted his fingers around her wrist, and flipped her over and slammed her into the ground. The older Hunter lifted his foot over her head when a familiar _**bang**_ took away his attention and he turned his head at Sora, who was gliding over the grass at him with the speed of a rocket. The spiky-haired islander passed Taiyang, but the hook of Crescent Rose caught him around the ankle and pulled it out from under him, making him fall on his back.

Taiyang didn't stay down for long; he flipped back up to his feet and threw a right hook at Sora's head. The new scythe wielder spun around the fist and used the momentum to carry Crescent Rose around to swing at the older hunter's back. Unfortunately, Taiyang only had to raise his forearm to block the scythe's blade. This left Sora open for the bearded blonde to grab him by the collar and lift him, one-handed off the ground. While the boy from the islands kicked his legs in fruitless struggle, Taiyang clenched his fist and pulled it back. Before the older Hunter could throw the punch, however, he felt something wrap tightly around his wrist and looked back.

Penny gave him an intense glare; she was still pretty peeved about earlier. Knowing that he was way stronger than her, the android grabbed Taiyang's arm with both hands and twisted it down before he could prepare. Sora heard the bones in his arms cracking and Taiyang let out a pained yelp, unconsciously loosening his grip on the islander. When Sora landed back on the ground, he jabbed Taiyang in the stomach with the end of Crescent Rose. It didn't do anything to hurt him, but Taiyang's abdomen was pressed against the scythe's muzzle. And Taiyang knew that too, based on the brief look of panic. The older Hunter reached out to grab Sora, but the boy had already pulled the trigger; Penny let go of his arm at the last moment.

Taiyang hit the ground once…twice…three times before he reached out with his hand and clawed at the grass. His hands ripped through the dirt, leaving a long trail in the ground, but he succeeded in slowing himself down and finally righted himself back onto his feet. The older Hunter stood up straight, panting heavy, wiping the sweat that was dripping from his brow. A moment later, he grimaced and held a hand to his stomach. The shot had made any physical wound, but Taiyang looked to be suffering all the same. Even if he was trying to hide it, Sora could see that Taiyang was fighting against more than just a few young Huntsmen; he was struggling with against an enemy that he stood no chance of defeating: Time.

Sora and Penny looked to each other with saddened glances, and for a moment, Sora considered putting Crescent Rose away and helping the poor man to a doctor. But while their attention was turned away, Taiyang suddenly caught a second wind and started another charge after them before either of them could think to pick up their weapons. Luckily, when the older Hunter was hallway from meeting them, Sun suddenly flew in from nowhere and kicked Taiyang from the side. The bearded blonde did stagger sideways but he did not fall.

Taiyang turned to face Sun, but when he looked over, the Monkey Faunus threw himself in the air again and kicked Taiyang in the chest…and again…and again…and again nonstop without touching the ground. With each blow, the older Hunter was pushed further back, his face twisting with pain, until Sun finished with a flying spinning kick to Taiyang's face. The older hunter was knocked off his feet and sent flying through the threshold of castle; they heard a loud crash inside.

Sun took slow, deep breaths, holding his hand over his heart, which was beating a hundred miles a minute. The guy was old, but he was built like a mountain – it took a lot more strength than Sun had just to push him back. Sora and Penny rushed down the hillside to join him soon after; Sora patted the Faunus on the shoulder in a silent congratulation. Then they heard another loud noise coming from inside the castle and, exchanging meaningful glances to one another, stepped inside.

The inside of the castle wasn't as fancy or as grand to look at as they had been expecting. At the most, it was just a really high ceiling hallway with a flashy red carpet and suits of armors lined up in a row on either side. They found Taiyang underneath a pile of armor parts that had fallen over when he landed, tossing some aside and others he simply crushed out of frustration. When he was finally free from the pileup, he stood across from Sora and his group, panting and holding his chest, glaring at the three of them. Sora couldn't stop the look of pity on his face.

"Tai, that's enough," said Sora softly. "It's over. We won. Let's…let's just calm down – "

"Don't tell me to calm down!" snapped Taiyang. "I just – I just – just please give me that scythe back…please…it's all I have left of my girls! Look," – He bent over, using his knees for support – "I know, I get it. I'm old and out of shape. You guys are a lot younger and fitter than me, and you guys definitely have experience fighting tough opponents. No matter how I look at it, I can't win this fight. Honestly, don't know why the hell Torchwick ever thought I'd be of any help in winning the Games. But…but that's not the point I'm trying to make here.

I…. My girls have been lost for ten years. I don't know whether they're alive or dead. I'd given up hope ever finding them, and then, out of the blue, you show up with Ruby's scythe. It sounds pathetic, but I'd do anything to get that scythe back – anything. I just want _something_ that can help me through this; remind me of the old days before everything went to pot and y girls were taken away from me. Kid…please …. It's the only hope I have left…I…I need it."

"Tai…," murmured Sora, closing his eyes sadly. "I'm sorry…but my answer is still no."

"…why?" asked Taiyang, his voice starting to quiver. "Why…?"

"Because it chose me," said Sora. Taiyang stared at him like he was crazy. "I know it sounds weird, but it's true. A few weeks ago, my island was attacked by the Grimm; destroyed by them, really. They would have destroyed me too, but then Crescent Rose showed up out of nowhere and saved me. This scythe came to me for a reason. I still don't know what that reason is, but I owe it to the people who came before me to find out. And if there's a chance I can find out what happened to Team RWBY, I'll find it."

"You stupid kid…," murmured Taiyang. "You don't understand – "

"I do understand, and that's why I can't give it up!" snapped Sora. "I lost my best friends on the island. I watched as two people I loved were taken by the darkness. I don't know where they are or if they're even alive, but I have to hope that they're out the somewhere, waiting for me to find them. And who knows, maybe they're out there looking for me too. So, until I find my friends and Team RWBY, I can't give up Crescent Rose."

Taiyang went silent after that; the only sound coming from him was the soft pants of exhaustion. The older Hunter stared at Sora with his head tilted, as if he were some strange new lifeform that he had never seen before. Taiyang opened his mouth to say something, but instead made a "Gurk!" sound as a narrow blade pierced through his chest; Sora's team screamed in fright. The blade retracted through Taiyang's chest and the older Hunter dropped to his knees and fell sideways. And standing over him, reattaching her blade to the main piece of her parasol, was –

"Neo!" shouted Sora, shocked. "What did you…why did you do that? He was already beaten?"

"You…," said Taiyang weakly, glaring up at Neo. "Did Torchwick tell you to do this? That wasn't part of our deal."

"Wait, she's working for Torchwick?" said Sun in realization, and then turned to Sora. "You made a deal with Torchwick? Why would you make a deal with Torchwick?"

"I didn't know who he was!" shouted Sora defensively. "He said that he wanted to help me get into the Games! Plus, he was a really good negotiator!"

"I knew she seemed familiar!" said Penny triumphantly.

"Kid, you gotta get out of here," said Taiyang, gritting his teeth. "She's no ordinary girl. She's Roman Torchwick's right hand lady and a seriously deadly assassin. She'll kill you."

"She wouldn't be the first one," said Sora jokingly as his team moved into battle stance. "Don't worry, Tai, it's three against one. We can totally take her."

Taiyang looked like he was ready to argue, but Sora had already taken the lead in the charge against Neo with Sun and Penny following shortly behind, leaving him with no room to speak.

Sora swung Crescent Rose around to the ice cream colored woman's head, which Neo easily ducked up, then carried with the momentum for a full swing at Neo's leg's, which she jumped over and kicked Sora in the face. The spiky-haired islander fell on his butt, quickly rolling out of the way when Neo brought down the pointed tip of her parasol on top of him. Sora rolled into a crouch and shifted Crescent Rose into Gun Mode, firing off two shots. Neo unfolded her parasol and deflected the bullets; Sora cursed under his breath.

At the same time, Sun jumped in close to her ex-teammate, bringing down Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang with an overhead strike. Neo casually turned her body and allowed the staff to smack the ground instead. Sun quickly pulled back for a moment before jabbing Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang at her head; the heterochromia woman listlessly tilted her head left and right to dodge with little effort. The Monkey Faunus grunted in frustration, spun his staff around with one hand, then attempted a side swipe to the woman's ribcage. Unfortunately, Neo twirled her parasol around to deflected the staff, causing Sun to stumble, then grabbed the Faunus by his collar and threw him at Sora, who had taken another shot at Neo when her shield dropped, only succeeding in hitting Sun back.

As the Monkey Faunus went flying overhead, Penny leaped forward with the remaining ten Marionette Blades gliding in a circle around her. The android motioned her hands to the left and the swords twirled in accorded direction. Though Neo popped open her parasol and was fending off the repeating assault, the ice cream themed woman was noticeably sliding back. And while her back to him, Sora reloaded Crescent Rose, peered through the scope until her head lined up with the crosshairs, took a deep breath to steady himself, and then pulled the trigger with a loud _**bang**_!

And, naturally, Sora never seems to hit his intended target.

The moment she heard the gunfire, Neo instinctively dropped to the floor and the bullet glided over her head, nailing Penny between the eyes. The Atlesian Android wasn't too badly damaged; her thick metal shell combined with aura shielding provided enough of a buffer; the most it did was make her dizzy. However, Neo took advantage of Penny's momentary distraction, flipping over the android with one hand on Penny's head to keep herself balanced. While she was in mid-flip, Neo suddenly turned her body and Penny's head twisted in the same direction; snapping metal and wires followed with flying sparks from the neck. Neo landed behind Penny's now-headless body, which dropped to the ground instantly, and held up the android's head with a smirk.

"Penny!" shouted Sora.

"I'm all right!" yelled Penny in return. "Sora, watch o – AHH!"

Neo lobbed the head and kicked it at Sora. The spiky-haired islander instinctively dodged it; Penny let out a yelp when she connected with the wall. When he straightened up, he found Neo to be standing over him. He didn't have a chance to bring up Crescent Rose since the dual-colored woman had kicked it out of his hand. And now she had pinned him down the needle tip of her parasol pressing ever so gently against his throat. Though this was not the best moment, Sora couldn't stop himself from glaring at Neo, wanting her to know just how much he hated her. And Neo smiled mockingly in return.

Neo pulled back her parasol ready to stab when –

" **Open, Gate of the Goat! Capricorn!** "

What sounded like a doorbell rang throughout the castle and when Neo looked over, someone kneed the bi-colored woman in the face. Neo bounced for several feet on the ground, sliding on the carpet for the final few feet. When blinked as he looked up at his rescuer, almost certain his jaw had gone through the floor. A goat. A human goat dressed in a butler's outfit, just kicked the tar out of Neo. And if that wasn't strange enough, the goat butler picked up Sora and Sun, dusted them off, reattached Penny's head, then bowed.

"Uh…thanks?" said Penny awkwardly.

Meanwhile, Neo lifted herself to her hands and feet, tenderly massaging the bruise that was developing on her cheek –

" **Requip! Heaven's Wheel!** "

Neo quickly leapt to her feet aty the voice and skipped backwards by several paces, barely dodging the hailstorm of swords that were flying down from the ceiling –

" **Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!** "

A tower of icicle spike exploded through the ground underneath Neo, sending the dual-colored woman sailing into the air –

" **Fire Dragon Roar!** "

Neo uttered her first sound (a gasp) when she opened her eyes and saw a jet of intensely hot flames flying at her. The ice cream-themed woman popped open her parasol and safely guarded herself from the flames, but the pressure behind the heat stream pushed against Neo until her back hit the large, making a small indentation in the stone. Neo, cringing in pain, tilted forward and landed on her hands and knees on the ground. She shakily lifted her head up with an angry glare, which quickly shifted into a look of panic when looked up to the team of four newcomers that were standing between her and Sora's Team.

From left to right the was a very muscular man with spiky pink hair and a scaly scarf, a blonde woman with an enormous bust (no, it's not Yang), a dark-haired man that seemed to have lost his shirt, and a scarlet-haired woman with a sharp glare and wearing a dress made of a ton of metal feathers. It was apparent to Sora that Neo recognized these people; otherwise she wouldn't look quite so fearful in their presence. The pink-haired man slammed his fist into his open palm loud enough for everyone to hear and Neo winced slightly, only adding on the fact.

"Hey, ice cream head, what d'ya think yer doing, huh?" growled the pink-haired man. "Sure looks like you were about to turn your teammate into a shish kabob. That doesn't sit right with us."

"And attacking a weakened man while his back is turned," said the scarlet-haired woman, looking at Taiyang. "Disgraceful! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"We have a saying in our guild," said the dark-haired man. "Treat your partners like your family. That's what Nakama means for us. Though I guess that don't mean anything coming from a literal backstabbing traitor."

"Anyone who would hurt their comrades doesn't deserve to be called Nakama!" said the blonde woman furiously.

"You said it, Lucy," said the pink-haired man. He raised his right hand behind him and, to Sora's surprise, the limb suddenly caught fire. "People like you really burn me up! So I'm gonna return the favor. **Fire Dragon Iron Fist!** "

The pink-haired pyro launched forward and Neo's expression turned into absolute panic. Though the dual-colored woman managed to push herself up and jump away in time to dodge the flaming fist, it was clear that she had no desire to go up against these four. She let out one final shuddering breath before she popped open her parasol over her shoulder, jumped backward into the air, and vanished in a brief flash of white light.

* * *

"What?! What do you mean we're disqualified?!" shouted Sora, Sun, and Penny in unison.

It was long after the preliminary round in the Sky Labyrinth had ended as Sora and his team found themselves back in the reception area along with the pumpkin headed man and the team that had saved their butts. While they were waiting for the ceremonies to close, both teams had introduced themselves. It turned out that the people who saved them was from Fairy Tail, a very famous and popular guild in Fiore, and their members were the best team of the guild: Natsu "The Salamander" Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, and Erza "Titania" Scarlet. Neo could understand why Neo had been so afraid of them if they're reputation was anything to go by.

When Fairy Tail had been the last team to cross the finish line, Sora thought that was the end of it. But then the pumpkin head mascot had pulled them off to the side to give them the bad news: They were eliminated from the competition.

"But why?" asked Penny.

"While your whole team _did_ cross the finish line," said the pumpkin man, "the committee received word that your partner, Neopolitan, has dropped out of the running. That makes you one teammate short of qualification. I'm sorry, but that's the rules."

"That's not fair!" said Sora, stomping his foot.

"Mr. Referee, there has to be something you can do," said Lucy pleadingly. "They worked really hard to make it, and they technically crossed the finish line with their whole team like you said."

"Yeah, it's not their fault their teammate turned out to be a psychopath," said Gray defensively.

"I'm sorry, but rules are rules," said the pumpkin man, crossing his arms.

"Hey, tell ya what?" said Natsu, kneeling and grin at the short mascot. "You let them in and – "

He leaned in close to the pumpkin's nonexistent ear and whispered the rest of the sentence. Almost instantly, the pumpkin man's eyes were wide and his mouth dropped in a clear mixture of shock and fright. The mascot turned his head mechanically to Natsu, who grinned and nodded his head; sweat started running down the pumpkin's head.

"Do we even want to know what he said?" Sun muttered to Lucy.

"Probably not," whispered Lucy in return.

"W-w-well, when you put it that way, I suppose they deserve a chance," stuttered the pumpkin judge. "It will take a while before the Grand Magic Games first round officially begins, so I'm willing to make you a deal: if you can find a replacement for your missing teammate, you'll be allowed to compete in the Games" – Sora, Sun, and Penny cheered – "But! If you don't find someone by the time the first round starts, you'll be disqualified and we'll give your spot to the next team!"

"That sounds fair," said Penny.

"Hey, where're we supposed to find another teammate," Sun said to Sora in a hush tone. "We're kinda on a mission, and we can't just tell people we're from another world."

"We'll worry about that later," muttered Sora.

"I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavors," said Erza praisingly. "I look forward to when we face each other in the Games."

"We won't go easy on ya!" said Natsu, flexing his muscles.

"That's what we're afraid of," said Sun jokingly.

The two groups shared a small laugh before Penny pointed out that it was time to go (I.E. they needed to move on to the next world). Sora, Sun, and Penny said their good byes to the mages of Fairy Tail and walked outside to the front entrance of the coliseum. The massive stadium had already been cleared out for a while; everyone had already gone hoe for the day. Everyone except a blonde man sitting on the stairway to town, elbows resting on his knees, his hands folded together, and her forehead resting on his hands; they could practically see the cloud of depression hanging over his head.

Sora shared a look of pity with his teammates. They couldn't just leave things like this. The trio silently communicated with a couple of nods and slowly walked over towards the man, stopping just a short distance from him.

"Tai," said Sora gently. "Are you all right?"

"…yeah, I'll be fine," said Taiyang slowly, raising his head to meet their eyes. "I don't suppose you came back to hand over that scythe, did you?" – Sora shook his head sadly – "Yeah, I didn't think so…. I must be cursed. First I lost both the loves of my life, I lost my best friend (even if he was a stupid drunk), and then I lose my girls. And then you show up with my baby girl's precious weapon and say you won't give it back. It's like the universe is going out of its way to make sure I never find happiness."

"That's not true!" said Sora suddenly. "I know things seem bad now, but everything will turn out all right in the end. You just have to keep holding on to hope that Ruby and Yang are still out there, waiting to be found. As long as you don't give up on hope, there's always a chance for the better."

"That's a nice sentiment, kid," said Taiyang. "But the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale. You don't always get your happily ever after.

"Well, that's why we're here," said Sora. "To make it better."

Taiyang's eyes went wide briefly when he heard these words and looked up at Sora properly, staring up at him as if he were seeing him in a new light. The older Hunter's eyes, which had previously been drooping with eyes of depression, had a sudden glint in them, as if new life had been breath inside him.

"You are so much like her…it's almost uncanny," said Taiyang; Sora tilted his head in confusion. With a loud grunt of effort, Taiyang slowly stood up, cracking the bones in his spine. "All right…I'll trust you with my baby girl's scythe for a little while longer. But if you're going to be using Crescent Rose, you should learn to use it properly. Here's a little trick to might wanna know – "

The older Hunter leaned in and whispered something into Sora's ears. The spiky-haired islander gasped and looked at Taiyang.

"Crescent Rose can do that?" asked Sora.

"If you know how to use it properly," said Taiyang, clapping the boy's shoulder. "Good luck to you, kid, and don't ever give up on hope."

"All right," said Sora as Taiyang started walking away. "How about a rematch sometime! Only this time, let's not have the criminal mastermind and the quiet assassin, okay?"

"Forget that, kid," said Taiyang, chuckling. "I'm way too old for this sh – stuff. I was totally gonna say stuff. What you kids are doing is for young people. I think it's time for me to hang up the gloves for good. But hey, if you need a personal trainer, feel free to look me up. I have a feeling you're gonna need one for when the Games start."

Sora grinned and shook his head as the bearded man disappeared. The boy from the islander felt good about himself. For the past few weeks, he had doubted himself and had little faith in his ability to help people, especially since he had Ganta save them back in Deadman Wonderland. But even though they clearly lost to Neo this day, he was able to inspire hope in a man who had given up on hope for nearly a decade. It felt good to know he was making a difference in someone's life. This fluttering feeling carried with him on his trip back to the Gummi ship when Sun pointed out the goofy grin on his face.

But as Sora and his friend disappeared down the stairway, Roman Torchwick was glaring at them from a distance behind one of the coliseum pillars, gritting his teeth so hard that he bit through his cigar.

"Lucky little brat," said Torchwick, stamping the cigar piece with his cane. "It's always been stupid lucky. That huntress showing up on the roof, that freaky robot girl on the docks, those useless White Fang thugs on the train, that damn Griffin, and now Fairy Tail comes to the rescue. Dumb luck! That's all it's ever been! DUMB LUCK!" he yelled, stamping his cane repeatedly into the ground. "….What do you want now?"

For Zeref had appeared behind Torchwick; a smug smirk gracing his pale complexion.

"I just came to see your progress, Torchwick," said Zeref. "But it seems you haven't made any."

"That's what you think," said Torchwick confidently. "A brilliant criminal mastermind always has a Plan B. When the Games start, I'll get rid of that kid and those brats from Fairy Tail in one fell swoop. So stay out of it. I don't need some high and mighty, overbearing, son of a – GAK!"

Torchwick's cane clattered to the floor as his hand went straight to his throat, chocking for air. His skin started to turn a sickly gray color and blue veins crawled across every inch. The self-proclaimed criminal mastermind turned to Zeref with rattling breath and stared into his master's eyes, which had turned a bloody shade of crimson.

"You will be wise to show respect, Torchwick," said Zeref dangerously. "Do not forget who it was that gave you life. Just as you should not forget who can take it away just as easily."

Zeref closed his eyes and Torchwick dropped to his hand and knees, taking deep breaths; his skin turned back to its natural shade of peach. The criminal sneered at the black wizard as he walked away into the darkness.

* * *

 **And that brings about the end of the first part of the Grand Magic Games. As I said before, I will be incorporating all five events from the original Fairy Tail series because I think this new cast of characters could make the Games much more interesting than the originals. The first round of the Games will start after the second visit to Traverse Town, which means Sora's team will have to find their fourth member within that span of time. I know some people would want a hint to know who the new member is, but I can't really say anything without making it obviously, so all I can do is ask you to wait patiently.**

 **The next and final world of the original groups in Yamatai. Rather than follow the same plot where Sora and someone else has a fight, I want to focus on developing Sora's character, more particularly when the reality sets in that his adventure isn't all fun and games and that there are monsters that will kill him if given the opportunity. It will be Sora's first true experience with life-and-death situations and a chance to see whether he will be able to overcome them.**

 **Until next time, please read and review.**

 **And be sure to check out my original story, We are SHDO, which is currently in the trailer stage.**


	12. Raiders of the Lost Souls, Part 1

**Chapter Eleven: Raiders of the Lost Souls, Part 1**

Crocus and the Grand Magic Games were long behind the trio, but Sora made a promise to Fairy Tail that they would be back again soon (and left no room for Penny or Sun to argue). So they sailed through the Ocean between Worlds aboard their Gummi Ship, already en route to the next world, which was actually the first world, Traverse Town. Sora had originally wanted to explore more worlds, but Penny made many decisive points.

Firstly, they had gone to Deadman Wonderland and Crocus because there was evidence that suggested Ruby had visited both worlds in the past, but they had no evidence that she had visited other worlds. And secondly, their Gummi Ship was not equipped to travel any further than the worlds they had visited; they were pushing their luck as it is. When Sora asked how they were going to move on to other worlds, it was Penny who suggested they make a requisition to the general for new navigation parts. And that's what led to this point.

While Sora purposely had his turned away, fiddling with the inner mechanism of Crescent Rose, Sun and Penny sat stiffly in their seats faced towards the monitor. Even if he couldn't see her, Sora could _feel_ the cold glare of General Schnee piercing him through the back; shivers ran up and down his spine at random intervals. And hearing the general's chilling voice inside the small, silent cockpit did not help matters.

"So despite my orders," said General Schnee coldly. "You three not only interfered in the affairs of the worlds… _again_ …but you also wasted valuable time that could have been spent searching for my sister's team playing games?"

"Well, it _is_ technically called the Grand Magic Games – " said Sun

"Silence, Captain!" snapped General Schnee; Sun let out a girlish 'eep!' "I should hold you three accountable for insubordination…. However, you're little excursion did bring up some valuable pieces of information that Atlas has been unaware of, namely Roman Torchwick and his subordinate, Neopolitan. The very fact that they were even on Crocus to begin with is most…troubling."

"We don't know what happened to Neo after what happened all those years ago," said Penny, "but we did have confirmation that Roman Torchwick was killed during the Battle of Beacon."

"Yes, I believe it was Miss Rose who reported watching Torchwick be eaten by a Griffin firsthand," said General Schnee, nodding. "While there have been one or two huntsmen who have survived such experiences, they were all exceptionally skill in their craft. Roman Torchwick was a common thief with only a basic knowledge of combat that, as I recall it, was defeated in one-on-one combat against a first year student from Beacon Academy. Miss Belladonna, I believe. All evidence shows that Torchwick could not have survived. So how is it possible that he seemingly returned from the dead?"

"Pyrrha was brought back to life," said Sun.

"According to Miss Nikos," said General Schnee, "her resurrection was contributed to efforts of Miss Rose's Team, who somehow found a way to bring her back just shortly before they disappeared. I sincerely doubt any of them would waste their bring trying to revive scum like Torchwick."

"So you think someone else did it?" asked Sun.

"It's not impossible," said General Schnee. "Ever since the Cataclysm, we've learned that our knowledge of the universe was woefully limited. Not only have we become aware of the existence of other worlds, but the existence of once-believed fictitious things: contagions that create undead monster, creatures that thrive in the vacuum of space, and of course, magic. I don't think I need to remind you of the stories of the Four Seasonal Maidens and the Silver-Eyed Warriors."

Sora noticed that Sun, Penny, and the general suddenly went silent and turned partially in his seat. All of them had a look on their faces as if they were reliving some terrible memory. Now might not have been the best time, he thought, but he should ask Penny or Sun about the stories of the Four Seasonal Maidens and the Silver-Eyed Warriors sometime.

"Who and why someone resurrected Torchwick shall be put under immediate investigation," said General Schnee. "As for your three, I don't want you diverting from your mission any further. You are to make an immediate return to Traverse Town. Professor Polendina has sent the new navigational parts as well as instructions on how to install them to Mr. Arc's team. You shall then – _bzzt_ –

"General?" said Penny in confusion. Brief flashes of static filled the screen. "General, can you hear us?"

"Can't – _bzzt –_ any of – _bzzt –_ believe to – _bzzt –_ you are – _bzzt_ – Yama – _bzzt –_ out of – _bzzt –_ diately! _"_

"General? General Schnee, do you copy?" Penny shouted urgently, rushing her fingers across the keyboard. The general disappeared completely, replaced by a wall of static. "We've just lost all connection with Atlas! All of our communication systems are down!"

"Guys, what's that?" asked Sora, pointing out the window.

Sun and Penny turned in their seats, following the direction of Sora's finger. Even in the dark vacuum of space they could make it out clearly. The angry black clouds seemed to appear out of nowhere, flashes of lightning arcing through between the dark puffs, thunder rumbling loud enough to shake the Gummi ship despite scientific logic. Noticing that the clouds were heading toward them very fast, Penny turned back in her seat and pulled back the Gummi Ship's control wheel. The wheel didn't move. Penny pulled back hard, raising herself up from her seat, but the wheel still would not move.

"The controls are locked!" shouted Penny. "I can't change course!"

"How are there storm clouds in space?" asked Sora worriedly.

"Forget about that!" yelled Sun. "Brace for impact!"

It was only moments before the clouds completely overtook them and everything vanished in a haze of darkness. Sora didn't see what happened after they entered the storm or what became of his friends. All he remembered was the thunder drumming in his ears, blocking out all other sounds, flittering flashes of lighting, and a rumbling that shook him to the bone. There was one flash of lightning that soon followed with the entire Gummi Ship shaking. The next thing he knew, Sora was falling.

* * *

Sora didn't know where he was or how long he had been falling for – everything was disoriented for him – but when he finally came to his sense, the spiky-haired boy looked up (or down) and realized where he was falling to. He only saw the bamboo tiling of a rooftop very briefly before he smashed his way bodily through that and the rotting wooden floors over the three floors before he hit ground level on his back. Sora groaned; a dull throbbing feeling rolled across his body. It was a feeling that he was grateful for – it meant that he hadn't died yet. As he lay there, Sora realized that falling from that much of a distance would have killed any normal person, but here he was sitting without a scratch on him.

"That aura stuff really comes in handy," moaned Sora. He sat up and felt a sharp pain in the back of his skull. "Ugh…my head…. Hey, Sun, Penny, you guys all right? Guys?

The boy from Destiny Islands looked around the room he had landed in with its complete lack of furniture, splintered and rotted wooden paneling, empty windows, vines creeping through the walls and grass poking through the floor. This place looked so old and decrepit – it didn't look like anyone had been using it for hundreds of years. But what worried Sora most as he pushed up to his feet were the lack of bodies present, specifically a robot and a monkey body.

"Sun! Penny!" called Sora; no response. "Can anybody hear me?"

"I can!"

Sora tilted his head back and turned his eyes toward the hole in the ceiling that he made. Someone's head poked through the gap, though they couldn't see their face because it was obscured by a hood. But what stood out to Sora was the color of the hood: red as freshly drawn blood. Sora had seen that hood before, he was sure of it. That hood belonged to –

"Wow, looks like you had a rough landing, huh?" said the hooded woman, looking between Sora and the hole above her head. She whistled impressively. "That must've been a fifty foot drop; and I thought sis was hardheaded."

"Hey…wait…aren't you…?" said Sora slowly.

"Yeah, you probably should worry less about who I am," said the hooded woman, "and worry more about him."

The island boy tilted his head in confusion, not understanding who she was referring to, until he heard it: a low, primal snarl sounding from the corner of the room. Very slowly, Sora turned to his left, leaning back slightly as he stared up into the monster's bulbous yellow eyes. The beast – a Grimm – had a canine figure, but stood on two legs, making it standing twice as tall as the scythe-wielder. White bone spikes protruded from its shoulders, arms, and legs – Sora, personally, couldn't tear his eyes from the razor-sharp nails on its fingers.

Their eyes locked onto each other, and then the werewolf monster howled, raising his claw above its head and bringing it down over him. Sora's fast reflexes granted him the chance to reach behind and pull Crescent Rose from behind his belt, but he had no time to activate one of its modes when the claw came down. He raised the inactive weapon between them and sparks crackled fro when the nails cut against the metal (but surprisingly left no scratches on the surface). The werewolf beast's attack was too powerful to full defend and Sora was knocked off his feet and thrown across the room.

Sora hit the wall (the building creaked ominously) and Sora slumped to the floor, shaking his head free of the stars in his eyes. The spiky-haired boy didn't waste time getting back up to his feet, flipping the switch to shift Crescent Rose into its Scythe Mode. The werewolf Grimm bellowed dangerously.

"What kind of Grimm is that?" said Sora. Next to the bird beast, it was the largest Grimm he'd ever seen.

"It's called a Beowolf," said the hooded woman through the hole. "You might not wanna stand around in one spot too long. They have really strong legs, so they have a powerful lunge, and those nails of theirs can rip through a person's aura really quick, so probably a good idea to stay out of their reach."

"Can't you come down here and help me?" asked Sora. No response came. "Hello? Oh, please don't say she just ditched me!"

The Beowolf howled again, lowering itself onto all-fours and leaping at the scythe wielder. The red-hooded woman was right, they did have powerful legs; Sora only just barely moved his head to the side in time before the Grimm's nails ripped through the wall where he was previously. Sora leapt away as the Beowolf pulled its hand out of the rotting wood, pointing Crescent Rose behind him, reloading the ammunition, and pulling at the trigger. The gunshot rang so loud that the Beowolf shook its head with a sharp yelp; Beowolves had sensitive hearing, Sora realized. While the Grimm was disoriented, Sora was carried by the recoil of the shot and zipped past the Beowolf, hooking the Grimm's ankle with Crescent Rose's hook along the way. The scythe wielder pulled and the Grimm dropped forward on to the floor.

Sora skidded to a stop, spinning Crescent Rose in his hand, and brought it down on the Beowolf's back. Unfortunately, the werewolf Grimm flipped around and swiped its claw through the air; its nails clashed with the scythe's blade to knock it off course. Sora stumbled with the sudden shift as the Beowolf lifted its leg and kicked the boy in the side, throwing him down to the ground. The Beowolf clambered its way onto its hind legs, leered at the boy for a moment, then lunged at him with its teeth bared. Sora yelped in fright. He pulled Crescent Rose up to his head and blocked the Beowolf's powerful jaw with the scythe's shaft; the teeth were dangerously close to his face.

Sora struggled to push the Grimm back when it was clear that the werewolf monster had the advantage in strength. He pushed one of his feet against the Beowolf's chest, but it did little more than give him an extra inch of breathing room. Thankfully, that was all he needed; the Beowolf's teeth climbed a little high up Crescent Rose's shaft and away from the bolt handle. Sora pulled and released the handle before his finger jumped to the trigger and squeezed hard. The boy from the island was shot sideways by the recoil; the Beowolf's head turned sharply in the same direction, letting out a pained bark. Sora rolled with the momentum until it carried him into a crouching position and turned to the Beowolf, which slowly turned to face him. The werewolf monster snarled with obvious anger; a long jagged scar cut a diagonal scar across its mask from when Crescent Rose's blade.

"Hey, it's not so bad," said Sora, chuckling uneasily. "You know, scars are very manly…. Al though, you're technically not a man, so…."

The Beowolf lunged again and Sora swung Crescent Rose in an arc over the Grimm's head. However, the werewolf beast suddenly stopped in its tracks and threw up its left claw, snapping its nails around the shaft beneath Crescent Rose's head to halt the blade inches from its face. Sora didn't have a chance to look surprised; the Grimm ripped his weapon out of his hands and threw away into the corner. The Beowolf then wrapped its right claw around Sora's chest and lifted him off the ground so that they were at eye level with each other. As he stared into the heated gaze of the Grimm's bulbous yellow eyes, a sudden realization came over Sora: it was intelligent.

The Beowolf snarled, raised the spiky-haired boy above its head, and slammed him down into the floor once…twice…three…four…five times, each one creating a new crack in the rotted wood floor. Sora aura took the brunt of the knocks, but even he knew that the invisible shielding wouldn't hold out forever. So when the werewolf beast pinned Sora to the floor with one hand and raised its free hand with its claws exposed, a thrill of panic started to build in his chest. The Beowolf brought down its claw –

\- and suddenly the werewolf beast let out a pained howl, jumping away from the boy while nursing its other hand. Sora sat up from his spot and noticed that something was sticking through the Grimm's large hand. It looked like an arrow.

 _ **Crash!**_

Sora and the Beowolf turned toward the noise. Someone had smashed their way through the wooden frame of a window, performed a quick roll, and charged at the Beowolf swinging what looked to be a climbing axe above their head. The Beowolf snarled and swiped at the person with its claw, but the newcomer ducked underneath the Grimm's arm, dived in close, and stabbed the Grimm's right hip with their axe. The Beowolf howled as it dropped to one knee. The newcomer then pivoted on their heel and raised the axe with both hands before driving it into the back of the Grimm's shoulder. The Beowolf let out an even bigger cry than before, flailing its arm and smacking the newcomer away. As the new person hit the wall, Sora watched in awe as the Beowolf suddenly dropped to all fours and rammed its head through the door, disappearing beyond the threshold.

Sora let out a breath he hadn't realizing he had been holding. He took a moment to relish the momentary respite before standing up again, brushing the dirt and dust off his clothes.

"What…the blood hell…was that?" said a tired female voice.

Sora had been to pick up Crescent Rose that he nearly forgot that there was another person in the room with him. He quickly realizes that his helper was a woman several years older than him with a very lean figure and a wild, almost primal mane of brunette hair tied in a long ponytail. Her attire of dress was plain: blue tank top, tan cargo pants, and dark combat boots. But when Sora took a closer look at her, be noticed that her clothes had a lot of wear and tear through them. Not only that, but dirt caked nearly every inch of her fair skin and that were several noticeable scars around her arms and necklines (Sora imagined there might be even more underneath). Aside from her climbing axe, she was also carrying a handcrafted wooden bow and several arrows on her back.

From just one look, Sora could tell that this woman had been enduring a lot worse trails than he had, and she didn't have aura to protect her.

"Hey, you okay?" the woman asked him; there was a rich accent to her voice. "I saw that blighter knock you 'round real good while I was passing by."

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Sora, tucking Crescent Rose in his belt. "Believe me, it's not the first time I ran into trouble with the Grimm."

"So that's what it's called, eh?" said the woman curiously. "I've seen a lot of strange things on this island, but never anything quite like that."

"Wait, we're on an island?" asked Sora, shocked.

"You didn't know that?" said the woman.

"It's not like we planned to be here," said Sora. "My friends and I were flying uh…back home, when these weird storm clouds just came out of nowhere and our…plane got shot down."

"That sounds about right," said the woman. "This island – Yamatai – is guarding by an impenetrable barrier of storm clouds that do not appear to be natural, but made from some kind of mystic force at work. For centuries, everyone believed that Yamatai was just a myth, mostly because no one could ever find it. Now we know why. I was the leading archeologist on the expedition to find the island when the storm destroyed our ship. We've been stranded here for little over a week now."

"And you haven't escaped yet?" asked Sora.

"The storms appear whenever someone tries to enter or leave the island," said the woman. "Trying to escape is suicide. And any attempt to contact the outside world is useless due to the electrical interference given off by the storms. We're on our own out here."

"Well, we can't stay here forever," said Sora urgently. "My friends and I, we uh…we have something very important to do that can't wait."

"How do you even know your friends are still alive?" asked the woman. "I've seen a lot of strange things on this island. Dangerous things. They might be dead by now."

"Trust me, Sun and Penny have been doing this for a lot longer than either of us," said Sora confidently. "And they're both super smart when it comes to this magic stuff. Maybe if we find them, they can help figure out a way to get off this island."

"It's worth a shot," said the woman, holding out her hand. "I'm Croft. Lara Croft."

"And I'm Sora," said Sora, taking her hand and shaking it. "Think you can help me find my friends?"

"I can try," said Lara. "But first we should head back to camp. I don't like leave Sam alone for too long."

Sora nodded in agreement. As Lara holstered her axe and walked toward the doors that the Beowolf had broken open, Sora stopped and looked to the hole in the ceiling. It didn't seem like she was there anymore, but Sora knew the red-hooded woman had been there at one point, and he had a good idea who it was. But could it really be her. After all their searching, was it really that easy? He needed to know more. He needed to find Sun and Penny.

* * *

 **YAMATAI**

* * *

Meanwhile, deep in the jungles of Yamatai, Penny cut a path through the brush with her ten swords (the other two were still in need of repairs) spinning like a saw blade while Sun leapt from branch to branch overhead. The monkey Faunus paused for a moment, looked around, and climbed toward the canopy. Penny watched him climb, only for him to come back own a moment later looking disheartened and pressed onward through the thicket. After cutting through the thickest parts, the path finally opened up into a small, circular clearing. Penny folded her Marionette Swords and reloaded them into the hidden compartment in her back, taking a seat on the large rock in the middle of the area. Sun dropped down a few seconds later and joined her, sighing.

"Well, this is another fine mess we've gotten ourselves into," said Sun.

"I don't know," said Penny. "Seems rather subpar compared to our other adventures."

"But at least then we didn't lose a fourteen year-old kid in the middle of the wilderness," retorted Sun. "Where are we, anyway?"

"I can't establish a connection to the Atlesian mainframe," said Penny, spacing off into space. "There's too much electrical interference, possibly generated by the storm that brought us here."

"Yeah, those storms were weird even by our standards," said Sun, scratching his head. "Do storm clouds normally show up in space."

"It's a scientific impossibility for any clouds to appear in interplanetary space," said Penny. "Since there is no scientific explanation for this, we can probably guess that there is some type of mystic force at work; magic strong enough to manipulate the laws of nature."

"And right after we got done talking about magic with the general," said Sun, standing up and stretching. "I think magic can be cool some times, but other times it can be a real pain in the tail."

As the monkey Faunus stretched his back, a gentle breeze blew by that made the leave above their heads flutter and their shadows danced on the ground. That's when he saw it: a brief glint of light coming from the tall grass. He tilted his head, blinking curiously. The shadows moved again and the light flashed once move. Humming thoughtfully, Sun walked over to the spot and crouched down, brushing his hand through the grass until his fingers made contact with something solid. The monkey Faunus picked up a familiar red cartridge, inspecting the magazine from both sides. It was covered in copious amounts of dirt and grime and had dozens of scratches along the casing.

"Is that one of Sora's magazines?" asked Penny, looking over the Faunus's shoulder. "You think he fell around here somewhere."

"No, this looks like it's been here for years," said Sun. He pulled out one of the bullets, noticing that it had a red tip. "And I don't think Sora knows how to use Fire Dust."

"If this doesn't belong to Sora," said Penny, mouth opening in realization, "then that must mean – "

The android stopped herself mid-sentence and perked her head up with Sun. They both heard something rustling through the bushes nearby; they sounded like they were getting closer. Penny unloaded her Marionette Swords and Sun snapped Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang together, cautiously approaching the source of the noise. Both Hunters stopped in front of the bushes; Penny flashed three fingers to her partner and Sun nodded. Three…two…one…. They both leaped through the bushes with startling yells and their weapons drawn in front.

"OH MY GOD!" someone screamed.

Sun and Penny faltered; looking apologetically they had scared half to death on the ground. She was a fairly young woman with short dark hair and facial features that showed she comes from a mixed heritage, though much of her skin was caked in dirt and scratches. Her clothes, which were made up of a leather jacket, black shirt, and white jeans, had several tears in them like she had been wrestling with a tigers (which may have been a possibility given the environment).

The woman was breathing very hard, hand over her chest, staring wide-eyed at the pair; her mouth was open, but she didn't seem capable of forming any words at the moment. Then her eyes wandered to their weapons, which Sun and Penny both realized and put them away, chuckling sheepishly.

"Uh…sorry 'bout that," apologized Sun; the woman still sat stupefied "So…nice weather we're having."

"Really, Sun?" said Penny with a blank look. "Really?"

"I'm sorry," said Sun, hanging his head shamefully.

* * *

Sora followed Lara closely as they climbed over the ruins of – as Lara told him – an old prayer chamber that had fallen over centuries ago, possibly due the combination of neglect and storm wear. That was about the most the scythe wielding boy could follow. Lara went on and on about the many facets of the abandoned village and would point out several worn or broken instruments that were used for everyday necessity; Sora wasn't even pretending to understand. The only thing he knew for certain was that no one had lived it the village for a long time; the centuries of constant storms must have wiped the people out and it looked like nature was taking it back. Moss was growing out of the rotting wood, weeds and tree growths were sprouting everywhere, and a network of vines had the entire village entangled. This place was nothing like the Destiny Islands.

Lara led Sora to the edge of the village and they came up to a tall cliffside. The spiky-haired boy had to tilt his head back as far as possible and take a few steps before he could even see the lip of the rock face. It may have looked steep to others, but Sora was no stranger to rock climbing; he and Riku would hold regular contests back in their younger days until Sora slipped and broke his ankle. After that, their parent added a strict no climbing rule to the already long list of rules.

"There's a zipline at the top that will take use just outside of camp," said Lara, unholstering her climbing axe. "I'll climb up and throw you a line."

"Don't need to," said Sora confidently, patting Crescent Rose. "I've got my own."

Lara looked at him strangely for a moment before Sora pulled off Crescent Rose and unfolded it Scythe Form. Lara's took a frightened step back and, quick as a flash, took out her bow and tugged at the drawstring with an arrow aimed between Sora's eyes; the spiky-haired boy also took a step back. Sora held his free hand up in surrender, and when she realized he didn't mean any harm, Lara hand relaxed and lowered the arrow.

"What the bloody hell is that?" asked Lara.

"This is Crescent Rose," said Sora carefully. "It's an uh…HCSS – High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe. Basically, it's a giant farming tool mixed with a gun."

"Where does a teenage boy come across a monstrosity like that?" asked Lara, stowing the bow and arrow.

"Believe it or not, it found me," said Sora. "It's kinda of a…personal story, so I don't really feel like talking about it."

"Well, I suppose we all have skeletons in our closets," said Lara.

The stranded archaeologist reclaimed her climbing axe on the ground and faced the cliffside wall, taking measure of the height. She took to the wall with a running start, leaping at a considerable distance, and stabbed the rock face with her axe. The small tool seemed to have buried itself deep enough to support Lara's weight, allowing the young archaeologist to find footholds in the rock. Once she secured herself, Lara ripped the axe out of the wall and stabbed it in a space higher before pulling herself up.

"Well, come on then," called Lara as she climbed higher. "The sun is just about to set over the horizon. As dangerous as the jungle is during the day, it's even worse at night. We'll want to make it to camp before then. Just hope to god Sam didn't wander off again," she seemed to mutter that last part to herself.

"Right behind you!" shouted Sora.

He twirled Crescent Rose, buried the muzzle in the ground, lifted one foot onto the scythe's hook, and then squeezed the trigger. The gunshot must have frightened Lara (or at least surprised her) because she lost her foot and nearly fell off the cliff had she not been anchored by the axe. The recoil shot Sora high into the air until he was on level with the archaeologist, pulled back Crescent Rose overhead, and buried the scythe's blade into the rock face. Having a bigger anchor than a climbing axe, the spiky-haired boy simply stood horizontally against the cliff with both hands wrapped firmly around the base. Sora looked over to Lara, grinning comically, but faltered under Lara's heated glare; she was not amused.

"Bugger! Don't _ever_ do that again!" Lara snapped. "Damn near gave me a heart attack! Or at the very least drop twenty-five feet to my death!"

"Sorry," Sora mumbled, feeling like a child being scolded by their parent. "I didn't know."

"Ah…. I'm sorry for getting shirty with you, mate," said Lara apologetically, climbing higher. "It's just…you haven't been on this island long enough to understand how dangerous Yamatai really is. Every little sound, every faint scent, could be another monster looking for dinner or some nutter trying to eat your face – I've run into plenty of the latter. This island is nothing short of hell."

"Then why come here in the first place?" asked Sora, following behind. "Why would you go looking for a dangerous place?"

"Well, I didn't know it'd be a den of monsters, now did I?" said Lara crossly. "I had just earned my degree at university, but it's hard to find work as an archaeologist when ninety percent of the world has already been brushed pover with a fine-toothed comb. I wanted to prove myself, so I started countless months of research on Yama-taikoku – or Yamatai, for short. It was a country that lived off the shores of Japan in Yayoi Period under the dominion of the Priestess-Queen Himiko, who was also known as the Sun Queen. According to ancient texts, the Sun Queen possessed great mystical power and had an army of Oni warriors that were unmatched in combat. It is said that Himiko obtained immortality by choosing a successor prior to her death and transfer her soul into their body to survive."

"If this Himiko was so powerful," asked Sora, "then why is the island all er…what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Gone to pot?" Lara offered.

"Yeah, that," said Sora.

"I wasn't sure at first," said Lara honestly. "But I found a scroll in one of the island's old temples that belong to one of Himiko's high priestesses. Apparently she was to be Himiko's successor, but she got cold feet and committed suicide to stop the Sun Queen from performing the ritual. I can only imagine that when Himiko failed to complete the ritual, she became enraged and used whatever power she had to create those storms that brought us here. Of course, back when we started the expedition, I didn't believe in all that – ugh! – mystic mumbo jumbo," she said, climbing over the cliff edge.

"I'm guessing your time here changed your mind?" said Sora, reach out his hand.

"Well," said Lara, grabbing Sora's hand and pulling him up. "It's certainly given me time to reevaluate my beliefs. C'mon, the line's over here."

Sora folded Crescent Rose, securing it on the back of his belt, and followed the archaeologist beneath a low hanging branch and through a thicket of tall grass and shrubbery.

"If you don't mind me asking," said Sora, stepping over an exposed root. "What happened to your crew? I mean, I'm guessing you had one."

"Most of them are dead," said Lara somberly.

"Oh…um…sorry," said Sora apologetically.

"Most of them were killed when our ship entered the storms," Lara explained. "The ones that survived long enough to make it to the island were either murdered by other survivors that were trapped on this island, or eaten by the wildlife like that monster we saw down in the village. I ended up having to kill my fair share to survive. Now it's just me and my best friend, Sam. We also came across an older gentleman named Mathias, who's survived on this island a longer than anyone else. Well, anyone still alive, at least. We've been bunking down in one of his old safe points while we figure out how to get off this island."

"And how's that been working out for you?" asked Sora.

"Not well," admitted Lara.

They pair pushed through way through the last bit of wilderness into an open area, but before Sora could take a few steps in, Lara suddenly pulled him back roughly by the hood of his coat. The spiky-haired boy turned and opened his mouth to complain, but Lara silenced him with a single finger, paused for moment to see if he would continue, and then pointed down when he didn't. Sora followed the digit, and then took a cautionary step back into a tree. Lara had led them to a wide chasm that cut through the jungle like a jagged scar; the sound of flowing water echoed from the bottom.

"That's how we ended up losing Reyes," said Lara. "You have to be mindful of where you're stepping on this island. Trust me; falling over the edge is a mercy in comparison."

"I'll just take your word for it," said Sora.

The archaeologist headed over towards a wooden pole that had been precariously situated near the cliff edge. The top part of the pole was covered in bundles of rope and there was a line connecting to another wooden pole a small ways below them on the opposite side of the chasm. In a way, it wasn't that much different than the crude zip line back on Destiny Islands…except higher, and scarier, and Sora didn't like the way the ropes were worn and frayed – they looked ready to go at any moment. Of course, Lara didn't seem the least bit worried: she had already set herself up using her climbing hook as a trolley.

The archaeologist turned survivor jumped off the edge of the cliff – the rope bounced slightly – and for one moment, Sora worried that the rope would suddenly snap. But his fears proved to be for naught as Lara safely landed on the opposite side. She waved him over, but Sora didn't think it was a good idea. Lara could have gotten over because she light, but Sora knew from holding the weapon that Crescent Rose's weight would surely break the line, sending him plummeting to a watery grave. No, he had a better idea.

The spiky-haired boy unfolded Crescent Rose into its Scythe Form and held it with the head facing behind him while he took several steps back. Sora took a deep breath; one hand was firmly on the bolt action while the other was gently squeezing the trigger. He took off at a running start and leaped as far as his legs could carry him over the chasm edge; he heard Lara yells something about "shite", whatever that means. Sora only made it halfway across the gorge before he felt gravity starting to take over. That's when he pulled the trigger and was propelled forward through the air with a loud _**bang!**_ Sora landed next to Lara, digging his feet in the dirt to stop his momentum. He turned back to the archaeologist, who had a hand on her chest, grinning spiritedly.

"I swear to ever loving Christ you're going to give me a heart attack," said Lara.

"I just figured it'd be safer this way," said Sora, folding and stowing the weapon.

"Yeah, well, warn me next time," said Lara, marching past the boy. "The camp's right over here. Try not to break anything."

"Since when have I…yeah, okay," Sora conceded.

It was a very short walk; thankfully they were allowed to cross through the forest using a dirt path instead of having to struggle through the brush. A soft orange glow illuminated the path up ahead and Sora could smell freshly cooked meat; Sora's stomach made a loud rumbling noise (he hadn't eaten since the Grand Magic Games). In short time, the two of them arrived in a small alcove hidden at the base of a huge, snow-capped mountain. The camp had very little aside from some beds made from palm leaves, a few flat stones, a few backpacks off to the side, and a crackling fire from which several sticks of meat were cooking over.

Sora saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to one of the farthest stone seats around the campfire. An older blonde man – Mathias, Sora presumed – propped himself up using a carved stick for a crutch held a knife to Sora with a panicked look in his eyes. The man did look experienced that there was clear definition of muscle through his torn shirt, but Sora sincerely doubted he and his little knife would stand up against Crescent Rose. Thankfully, they never had to come to blows as Lara stepped between the two, holding a hand out to each of them (what did I do, Sora thought to himself).

"Hold on, Mathias," said Lara insistently. "It's okay. He's a friend."

"Oh, Lara," said Mathias with a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. For a moment, I was afraid it might have been another one of those awful savages coming to pilfer our camp again. Er, do forgive me, son. It's not often we meet friendly people on this island" – he sat down with a strained groan – "I haven't see you around here before, and I pride myself on knowing just about everything on Yamatai. Judging by the state of your clothes, I'd wager you only just arrived."

"Yeah, my friend and I got caught in the storm and crash landed," said Sora

"Mathias…," said Lara, slowly searching the campsite. "Where's Sam?"

"Oh, she went off to look for some herbs and fruits," said Mathias. "You mentioned earlier that we were running short supply of them, so – "

"You let her leave?!" Lara yelled viciously; Sora nearly tripped over himself by the sudden outburst. "I specifically told her not to leave camp! Why didn't you stop her?!"

"I – I told her not to wander off too far," Mathias stammered; Lara's glare intensified. "I figured that if she stayed within sight of camp, she wouldn't get into too much trouble."

"This is Sam we're talking about," said Lara, readjusting her bow and rucksack. "She's a magnet for trouble. God, I need to find her."

"Now, Miss Croft, I know you feel a little protective of Samantha," said Mathias soothingly, "but Samantha is a grown woman capable of taking care of herself. She feels that she is placing a burden on your shoulders by not helping, so I figured we could give her a few odds and ends to handle to make her feel like she is contributing."

"That's not your decision to make!" Lara snapped. "Sam, she…she needs me. She can't handle herself without me."

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, _best friend_."

Lara pivoted sharply on her foot and Sora turned in tangent with her as a woman – most likely Sam – emerged from the brush around the campsite, her arms laden with a variety of different leaves and berries. And she wasn't alone. Shortly after Sam stepped into the campsite, Sun and Penny also appeared. Sun was carrying a carrying a bundle of tree fruit, while simultaneously eating a banana with his tail, and Penny was hefting a massive log over her head.

"Sam!" cried Lara.

"Sun! Penny!" shouted Sora joyfully.

"Sora!" Sun and Penny yelled together.

Sora started walking towards his traveling companions when he was rudely shoved aside by Lara, making him trip backwards over the stone seats. The rough archaeologist threw her arms around Sam in a death grip and caused the woman to drop the items she had brought on the jungle floor. Good thing they were used to eating things off the ground. Sora, in the meantime, sat up, rubbing the back of his head, which was throbbing for the second time that day. He heard Sun and Penny laughing; Sora scowled at the pair until Sun offered a hand and pulled him up.

"Thanks," mumbled Sora.

"Sam, are you all right?" asked Lara frantically, searching every square inch of Sam like it was an obsession. "You're not hurt, are you? Are you tired? You're probably tired. I told you not to wander off from the camp. Is that a new scratch? Were you attacked? I swear to God, if somebody laid a finger – "

"Lara!" Sam screamed; the archaeologist stiffened. "Will you stop treating me like I'm some helpless damsel in distress? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"I wasn't saying you weren't," said Lara; she sounded awfully uncertain in Sora's opinion. "I – I just get worried, that's all. This island is very dangerous; you know that…. I just…don't want to see you get hurt…. You're important to me – er, us, Sam. Important to us."

"Sweetie," cooed Sam, tenderly caressing the archaeologist's face. Sora's face felt hot and shyly looked away; he felt like he was invading on a private moment. "I just went off to look for a few things, not go bungee jumping off a cliff. Although, that does sound like fun. I was close enough to where I could make it back safely, just like I promised. Besides, I had my new friends to protect me. You should have seen the crazy thing they did – er, that reminds me. What're your names again?" she asked Sun and Penny.

"These were my friends that I told you about, Lara," said Sora, gesturing to the two. "This is Penny Polendina and Sun Wukong."

"Sun Wukong?" Lara repeated strangely. "As in the mythological figure from the Chinese classic novel _Journey to the West_?"

"Uh…sure, let's go with that?" said Sun, shrugging.

"I'm so glad you two are okay," said Sora in relief. "After that weird Grimm, I thought you guys might have been in trouble."

"Weird Grimm?" repeated Penny. "What weird Grimm?"

"Uh – it was a huge, hairy, werewolf type Grimm – A Beowolf," explained Sora with exaggerated gestures. "And you know me; Grimm aren't a problem for Crescent Rose. But this one was different. During the fight, the Grimm started acting strange like…like it was thinking. But Grimm can't think. They're just mindless monsters, right?"

"I knew there was something we forgot to mention," Penny said to Sun.

"Forgot to mention what?" asked Sora.

"Grimm may look like monsters, but they're a lot smarter than that," said Sun. "Unlike wild animals, the Grimm can learn from their experiences. As they grow older, they not only get bigger and stronger, but smarter too. When they aren't slain while they're young, they'll only become more dangerous."

"We were lucky to have only come across young Grimm so far, not count that Giant Armor" said Penny.

"That would have been a good piece of info to know," said Sora blandly.

"So you three are friends, huh?" said Sam as she took a seat with Lara. "And you guys crashed on Yamatai same as us? Well, if you're gonna be trapped on this island, at least you're trapped together."

"But we can't stay here," said Penny insistently. "We're on an important mission. Some friends of ours have gone missing for a while and we're looking for any possible leads on finding them."

"Well, you may as well give up on your mission," said Mathias hopelessly. "No one leaves Yamatai alive so long as Himiko's spirit continues to unleash its horrible wrath on the island. I'm afraid you will never see your friends again."

"Maybe not," said Sora. Everyone looked at him curiously. "Sun, Penny, I think I saw Ruby."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Sun and Penny in unison. "YOU SAW RUBY?!"

"At least I think I did," said Sora unconfidently. "I could see her face, but I definitely recognized her hood. It was the same one she was wearing in the picture." – Sun and Penny looked at each other, humming thoughtfully – "What? You don't believe me?"

"No I think we do believe you," said Penny. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the cartridge they had collected. "We found this earlier in the forest. Recognize it."

"It looks like Crescent Rose's magazines," said Sora, inspecting the piece. "Except its…dirty and full of scratches."

"And it's full of Fire Dust ammunition," said Sun. "We know Ren didn't give you any Dust because he was afraid you might blow your foot off, so we think this might have been left behind by Ruby at some point. It must've been on the island for years."

"Excuse me, Mathias, was it?" said Penny, turning to the older gentleman. "You've been on the island for quite a while. Do you know anything about a woman wearing a red hood? Maybe you've seen her or at least heard rumors about her?"

"I know exactly who you're talking about," said Mathias, his face contorted into a horrible grimace. "It's not exactly something the people on the island like to talk about, at least outside of telling ghost stories. You see, nine years back, there was word of a woman draped in a cloak colored scarlet like fresh blood. The island is mostly populated by men who have not seen a woman in years, so naturally they tried to…take her. Alas, each and every time the men were foolhardy enough to approach her was slain.

"I had the misfortune of witnessing one of these attacks. While I hid among the trees, trying to sneak my way back to camp with food and fresh water, I saw the woman walking through the path toward Himiko's temple, her face concealed under a bloody hood and a scarlet cape fluttering in her wake. I had heard rumors of this woman and tried to make myself invisible out of fear that she would kill me if I was spotted. And then, all of a sudden, she stopped in the middle of the path. For a moment, I had feared that she had found me. But, as it turned out, she had found someone else instead.

"Like the fools they were, twenty men charged out of the trees, screaming like howler monkeys, armed to stone spears, knives, and bows. They had surrounded her. All of them were talking in loud voice, telling the woman what they would do to her once they caught her; every word that fell from their lips was utter filth. And then, all of a sudden, she was gone. Vanished in the blink of an eye. The men were equally confused as I. And that's when I witness that…horrible experience. One by one, the men were ripped apart by an unseen force. Their throats were sliced open, limbs torn from their joints, eyes gouged from their sockets, tongues snipped from their mouths, and that was only for the fortunate few. The unlucky ones didn't have much left over. And the blood – oh, the blood. It was everywhere.

"And just like that, the woman reappeared in the circle of corpses she had created, clean and untouched by the mess she had caused. I nearly fainted in terror by what I saw; I had forgotten to breathe. And then she continued on her way as if nothing had happened. From that point on, everyone knew this woman as the Red Witch and spread warning never to cross her, for it may be the last thing you will ever do."

"Whoa…," murmured Sora. "You really think that was Ruby?"

"If the island is as bad as they say, it wouldn't surprise me," said Sun. "Here its kill or be killed, not that much different from Remnant during its final years."

"The time does correlate with Ruby's disappearance," said Penny thoughtfully. "And the disappearing act? That could be Ruby using her Speed Semblance to move faster than their eyes could perceive. Tell me, Mathias, where did you last see this 'Red Witch'?"

"I've once seen her twice during my time here; the first time being that experience," said Mathias, stroking his chin. "Truth be told, she hasn't been seen a lot on Yamatai despite her widely known reputation and the massive witch hunt that occurred after those men were slaughtered. For the past nine years, she's only been seen once a year, and every time she makes an expedition to the monastery; that's how those men managed to ambush her. The strangest thing is that she always goes in, but she never comes out. I've seen droves of men waiting for her for months, but she never returns. It's an odd thing, really?"

"Well, that's the best lead we've had in a long time," said Sora, standing up with Sun and Penny. "We should get going."

"Wait, you're not seriously going to go look for her, are you?" said Sam aghast. "Didn't you hear Mathias's story? She killed all those people."

"Ruby is my best friend," said Penny surely. "No matter how bad things have gotten, I'm sure she'd never do anything to hurt us."

"Even if you were right," said Lara; there was a hint of doubt in her voice, "do you even know how to get into the monastery? I sincerely doubt you'd try to go through the front entrance with all of the cultists, monsters, and oni guards along the way."

"Uh…," said Sora dumbly.

Lara was staring at him expectantly; Sora just blinking, having no clue how to answer. He looked to Sun and Penny, but both the Faunus and the machine shook their heads. The truth was that none of them have been on Yamatai long enough to know the terrain, or figure out an alternative route away from unavoidable danger. Sora would say that they could just walk around and hope for the best, but Penny and Sun would probably smack him over the head and call it a stupid idea; Penny's slaps hurt a lot.

Sam shook Lara by the shoulder, gesturing to Sora and his friends, but Lara was shaking her head vehemently with her arms cross. The other woman gestured at the group harder with a heated glare sent at her best friend, but the archaeologist was not budging. So with an annoyed grimace, Sam turned in her seat until her back was to Lara, arms crossed and nose turned up with a loud "humph!" Lara rolled her eyes at her best friend's childish behavior and reached out to touch her shoulder, but the woman shrugged her off and gave another loud "humph!" The archaeologist grunted in annoyance, looked between Sam and the trio of world hoppers, until she finally gave in, throwing her arms up in defeat.

"Fine!" said Lara in an annoyed tone. "I know a hidden entrance into the monastery. I can take you there, but that's as far as I go. I'm not about to go chasing after some nutter with superpowers, even if she is your friend."

"Thanks, Lara," said Sora gratefully.

"Don't go thanking me just yet," said Lara. "Getting there will probably be as dangerous as going through the front entrance. We'll head out at daybreak; I'm too bloody knackered to go anywhere right now."

"Sounds like a plan," said Penny, nodding in agreement.

And so the tribe of six laid their heads on the palm leaf bedding spread in a circle around the dying embers of the campfire, most of them falling asleep straightaway, having exhausted themselves during the day. But Sora remained awake. He stared up at the sparse glitter of stars through the narrow gap in the canopy, lost in thought. It was the first actual lead they had on Team RWBY for weeks, and Sora would be lying if he said he wasn't excited to meet the original owner and creator of Crescent Rose; he had so many questions about the scythe. But as he thought about the many things he would like to say to the famous Ruby Rose, one thought suddenly popped into his mind. He knew it would happen eventually once they found the team, but it didn't seem real until they were this close to finding them.

If Ruby Rose came back, then where would that leave him?

* * *

 **In all honesty, I felt I could have done a lot better with this chapter, but I suppose I had to get all the explanations out of the way so that there would be more room open for other sequences in the next couple of chapters. The main thing I want to emphasis on this world is the survival aspect and show how dangerous the Grimm really are rather than just making them secondary antagonists like in the source series and like the Heartless are in KH. This is also the first confirmed sighting of Ruby and the beginning of Sora's personal dilemma: find Ruby and lose his place on the team, or don't find her and use the chance to look for his friends.**

 **And also take the opportunity to read my original series (which is in the prototype stage), We Are SHDO.**

 **Until then, please read and review.**


	13. Raiders of the Lost Souls, Part 2

**Chapter Twelve: Raiders of the Lost Souls, Part 2**

Sora winced from another brush against the chasm's arid dust storm, raising his hand over his eyes hoping to relieve _some_ of harsh winds. Behind him, Penny was moving meticulously slow that it forced the rest of the party to slow down with her, but Sun was walking straight and proper as if the storm wasn't there. Sun had once said that he grew up in a desert region called Vacuo; Sora supposed that had something to contribute to it. And up ahead leading the pack was Lara, donning a pair of cracked goggles to conceal her eyes and walking with a metal pole to keep herself upright against the wind. Together, the four of them cautiously edged their way around a sharp and narrow corner in the pathway (Lara led out her pole to help them around). The arid dust storm wasn't hitting them as badly around the bend, giving them a chance to rest for a moment.

"We're nearly there!" Lara shouted over the howling winds. "There's a hole in the wall up ahead that opens up into the monastery, right into Himiko's burial chamber!"

"Are you sure it was such a good idea to climb the Cliffside of a chasm in the middle of a dust storm?" yelled Penny. "This can't be good for my joints! I can feel my servos – _**clang!**_ " Sun rapped her over the head with his weapon; Lara didn't need to know she was a robot.

"Is the best route!" shouted Lara, pushing on along the path. "Unless you want to fight an army of crazed cultists and unstoppable demon guards!"

"I think I'd take my chances with the cultists and the demons!" said Sun, shaking her hair. "Sweet dust, how long does this storm go on? We must have been up here for more than an hour!"

"This storm has been going on since before we arrived 'ere, according to Mathias!" shouted Lara. "Himiko was buried inside the monastery after her ritual failed and she trapped her servants and followers on the island, so it stands to reason that the storm would be strongest near her body! I just happened to come across it by chance last time I was 'ere! Be grateful you don't have to take the same path I took! I got captured by Oni and woke up in a larder!"

"What's a larder?" asked Sora.

"They're quarters or cellars used for storing large amounts of food for long periods of time!" explained Lara. "They fell out of use in the modern world about the time refrigeration technology was developed, but I sincerely doubt you'd find a cooler in this old place! And just so you know, the Oni didn't use the larder to store fruits and vegetables, I can tell you that! I was a right bloody mess after that! Sam wouldn't let me back at camp until I had scrubbed myself raw in the river!"

"That's information we didn't need to know!" yelled Sora.

"Speak for yourself!" counted Sun. "These Oni – how tough are they exactly? If we end up in a fight, what d'ya think our chances are?"

"I'd rather not find out if that's okay with you!" answered Lara. A few more paces forward and Lara suddenly stopped underneath a crooked square hole in the side of the chasm wall, dropping the metal pole where she stood. "All right, this is it! C'mon, I'll give you a leg up!"

The archeologist crouched down and cupped her hands together beneath the hole. Sora was the first to step up, propping his foot in Lara's hands while holding on to her shoulders for balance. Lara mouthed to the counted of three and the archeologist heaved the boy upwards as the same time Sora jumped, launching him just enough to grab the edge of the hole. Sora's feet scrambled against the grainy wall as he pulled himself up, lifting his body through the hole and dropping over the edge on the other side. Unfortunately, Sora didn't take into account that he might be ten feet off the floor and clumsily landed on the stone surface with his shoulder. Sora hissed; his aura protected him from taking any damage, but that didn't stop it from stinging.

Groaning and rolling his shoulder, Sora flipped back up and decided to have a better look around the tomb. Sora supposed he shouldn't have been surprised that nearly everything inside was about the cursed Sun Queen. Faded murals were painted on each wall telling some kind of story that Sora could decipher and even the large-than-life statue of the queen herself seating behind a pair of scary looking monster (her guards, maybe?). There was a stone casket in middle of the chamber with one corner pushed aside, granting Sora the perfect view of what was inside when he took a peek. There is where he found the skeletal remains of the former Sun Queen, as well as the thick smell of death that wafted from it.

"O-oh my – my go-od," Sora coughed and pulled away. "Yep, she's dead, all right."

Sun jumped through the hole shortly after, showing off with a spectacular flip and landing in a crouched position like a superhero. The coolness effect lasted for another two seconds before dropped from their ceiling like dead weight, landing on top of the Faunus with a loud _**clang**_! Sora turned his back and slapped his hand over his mouth to quell his laughter. Penny picked herself up and brushed off the dust on her clothing, but Sun stayed on the ground a little while longer, moaning into the floor. Lara climbed down moments later, smartly using her axe in her descent to ground level. Once she touched down safely, she removed the goggles and ran her fingers through her hair trying to brush out as much dust as she could.

"It's the small things you miss when you don't have them anymore," said Lara. "Christ, I miss conditioner. I miss soap for that matter."

"Well at least we're inside now," groaned Sun as he stood up, cracking his spine. "If what Mathias says is true, then Ruby might be hiding out around here somewhere. So where do ya think we should start looking, Croft?"

"Oh no, this is where I get off," said Lara strictly, shaking her head. "I only promised that I would get you inside the monastery, not go traipsing after some…scarlet witch ("red witch," chimed in Sora) on a wild goose chase. Sorry, but I need to get back to camp."

"You can't just leave us here!" argued Penny. "We don't know the layout of the area like you do!"

"Again, I'm sorry, but I need to go back," said Lara, staring to dig her climbing axe into the wall. "I've already been away from Sam too long as it is."

"You really care about Sam, don't you?" said Sora, watching her climb.

"Well…of course," said Lara, suddenly stopping halfway up the wall. "She's…she's my best friend. She's very important to me."

"Are you sure she's just your _best friend_?" asked Sun, grinning teasingly. "You two were awfully close back at camp, all touchy-feely and sharing the same bed last night. It seemed more like you two were – of the top of my head – a little more than friends, like girl –

Lara came down with a mighty crash; she landed on and shattered a pile of old clay pots. Sora, Sun, and Penny rushed over to help. After the Faunus and the android pulled her back up by her arms, the archeologist suddenly whipped around on Sun, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. Lara's face was bright red. For a quick moment, Sora thought she might have been angry with Sun, but a second glance made Sora recognize that the redness was not anger, but embarrassment; an emotion that Sora was only too familiar with.

"I – I honestly don't know what's going on through that gutter of a brain of yours!" yelled Lara, her voice an octave higher than normal. "I mean, yeah, Sam and I are – are pretty close, but that's only because we've known each other for a long time! And sharing a bed together doesn't mean anything! Yamatai is cold at night and we were huddling together for warmth, that's all! And even if I did think of Sam that way – which I don't! – It's not like…well, she's been with a lot of guys. I don't mean with a lot of guys like – like she shags them or something! Sam is better than that! She's smart, she's sweet, she's beautiful – I – I mean that in a friendly way, of course!"

"Lara acts tough," Sora whispered to Penny, "but she's actually really shy."

"I think it's kinda cute," Penny replied, giggling softly.

Lara obviously heard them talking because she snapped her attention on them and opened her mouth the retort. But before she could say anything, the group heard a noise. It was a repeated thudding noise, like several pairs of heavy feet marching together in single-file (Penny's words, not his). The noises were getting louder, which meant they were getting closer. The sound stopped directly outside the room…and the far side wall rattled with a _**bang**_ ; dust fell from the ceiling. They were trying to get in.

"Hide!" hissed Lara.

Lara, Sun, and Penny immediately scrambled in opposite directions, unknowingly spinning Sora around until he was in a daze. Sun climbed the statue of Himiko like the cheeky monkey that he was and crawled along the surface to hide behind the head. Penny shot four of her Marionette Swords to the ceiling and reeled herself up, doing an impressive job of hiding in the shadows of the roof. Lara, not being half-animal or a robot, shimmied herself around one of the columns in the corners of the chamber, slipping into the narrow space between the pillar and the wall. And by the time Sora finally got his bearings, he realized that everyone else had already found their hiding spots and the wall between them and the men outside was starting to crack. Sora stammered and paced around fretfully; the wall was starting the break off piece by piece. Clearly desperate by this point, Sora leapt headfirst into the only the hiding place he could find – Himiko's casket.

"What are you doing?" Lara hissed frantically. "Get out of there before they - !"

Too late. The wall blew open, blasting shards of stone across the chamber.

Sora couldn't really see much through the small opening of the crypt, but he could hear and feel the heavy footfalls. There appeared to be several of them; they were chattering in a language that Sora couldn't understand. He could feel them moving closer to the crypt and Sora wedged himself deeper underneath the lid into the darkness. He felt something bump against his back and flipped around; he slapped his hand over his mouth to stop himself from scream when he came face-to-skull with Himiko. Sora flipped around again and stared through the opening as one of the men stepped into view.

He couldn't tell if they were human or not; they were wearing black steal masks shaped like demons to conceal their identities (were these the Oni, Sora wondered). Sora always thought Taiyang was the tallest and strongest guy he met, but these "Oni" were gigantic, easily dwarfing the older hunter at seven or eight feet with bulging bodies hidden underneath the heavy armor plating. The ancient guardsman shouted in the same language around the chamber, receiving similar responses all around it, then turned on its boot heel uttering something to someone out of sight. That's when Sora heard a strange noise, like metal scraping against stone, coming directly above him. When the new figure appeared in Sora's vision, he was grateful his hand was still over his mouth.

He recognized the Beowolf growling at the Oni. He remembered cutting that crooked diagonally scar running across its face with Crescent Rose.

The Oni said something he couldn't understand to the Beowolf. The beast looked displeased and swiped its claw across the Oni's neck, slicing its throat open; black blood sprayed from the wound and the Oni fell out of sight. The Beowolf upturned its long snout and took several sharp sniffs of the air. Being directly next to the Grimm, Sora feared that the Beowolf would suddenly turn and stab him through the opening of the casket. Thankfully, the Beowolf seemed to be unaware that the boy was nearby and walked away from Sora's view. The beast howled sharply, the Oni shouted in responses, and in the next moment, there was a loud _**boom**_. The Oni's heavy footsteps marched in unison again, this time moving further and further away with time.

Sora remained rooted in his spot with only the sound of his breathing to listen to…. A hand reached in through opening, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him out roughly. The spiky-haired boy yelped and instinctively reached for Crescent Rose, but he stopped himself and realized that it was only Lara. The archaeologist set him down on his feet and brushed him off as Sun and Penny came down from their hiding spots.

"You're a right git, you know that?" Lara admonished him, flicking a spider off his shoulder. "You could've gotten yourself killed like that. Luckily, the scent of Himiko's corpse must have masked your scent. It seems to have certainly been strong enough to keep that – Beowolf, you called it? – from noticing the rest of us."

"That wasn't just any Beowolf," said Sora. "That was the same Beowolf we fought down in the village, Lara."

"I noticed," said Lara with a heavy sigh.

"Did you see what it was doing?" asked Penny, sounding shocked and slightly curious. "The Oni were talking to it, and the Beowolf was giving them orders; it told them to tear down the wall beneath the secret entrance," she added, referring to the new hole that open to the pathway Sora and his friends used to reach the monastery. "I've heard of Grimm becoming intelligent enough to lead packs of their own kind, but never have I heard of a Grimm capable of leading soldiers before. You think that Beowolf might be a Possession-Type Grimm?

"I don't know," said Sun, poking his head through the hole, "but it doesn't look like we'll be able to get out the way we came. We'll have to find another way…and I bet you knock one or two ways out, Miss Croft. So, I guess that means you'll be giving us the VIP tour," added Sun with a cocky grin.

"…smarmy git," muttered Lara. "All right, fine, but only 'cause we need to find a way out. I won't leave Sam alone any longer than I should."

"Don't worry, we'll make it back to your _girlf –_ YOW!" Sun yelped; Lara stomped on his toes.

The party of four crept over to the hole left in the wall from where the Oni barged in with Lara leading the pack. The survivalist poked her head around the corner, but then pulled back sharply and pressed herself against the wall with the others. A squad of four Oni marched down the hallway. Lara waited until the guards turned the corner at the end of the corridor before she rushed out towards the opposite direction. Though Penny and Sun followed shortly, Sora hesitated when he took his first step outside the chamber and felt something wet and sticky on the bottom of his shoe.

The spiky-haired boy looked down. He saw red – a lot of a red. Not the shade of red you would see on an apple or a rose flower, but a darker, murkier shade. Sora slowly lifted his head and came to the realization that the murky red "paint" was splattered everywhere from the floor, to the walls, and even on the ceiling. And there was…stuff inside them. Raw, mangled, and chipped. Sometimes they were in whole pieces, sometimes they were broken down into shards; there were even whole sets dangling from the walls, barely kept together by a thinning layer of…skin…

Lara quickly backtracked and slapped her hand over Sora's mouth before he could get a sound out.

"Quiet!" Lara hissed. "You want the whole temple to know we're here!"

"This is – I can't – how did – " stammered Sora, turning on Lara. "How are you okay with this?"

"Stay on this island long enough and you learn to ignore it," said Lara coolly.

"My Oum," murmured Penny, trying very hard not to step in the red. "Even Deadman Wonderland wasn't this bad…. What is the Oni doing in here?"

"There's a rumor that goes 'round the island," said Lara, pushing forward along the hall, "that the Oni eat any of the male survivors they come across the island and…force themselves upon any woman to keep their numbers strong. I can't say for sure if any of it is true, but you remember when I told you that they locked me in a larder. The pile of bodies was nearly to the ceiling – and that's not counting the ones they strung up like cattle."

"And we're lost in their backyard," said Sun, electing to cling to the walls. "You know, this might not have been such a good idea after all."

"I could have told you that from the start," said Lara, sidling near a corner and peeking around. "With the way we came being patrolled by the Oni, there are at least two more paths out of the monastery. Unfortunately, one of them is through the front entrance, where there are sure to be dozens of Oni guarding the doors."

"Well, at least we know which path we're _not_ taking," said Sun.

"The only other way I know is a bit of a slope," said Lara, "but to tell you the truth…I don't recall where it is. Last time I found it, the monastery was collapsing around me and I took a massive fall. It was only dumb luck that I managed to get out of there safely."

"If you don't know where it is, how're we supposed to - ?" Sun complained.

The monkey Faunus was cut off by a thunderous slam that echoed down the corridor and the repeated thuds of heavy footsteps. Lara poked her head out from around the corner; Sora's head poked out on top of hers, Sun's on top of his, and Penny's on top of his. All four of them observed an army march of Oni, armed with an assortment of swords, arrows, spears, and other dangerous weapons, all headed in the same direction.

"They look like they're headed for war," said Sun.

"You don't think the Oni are finally going to purge the island, do you?" asked Penny worried.

"All the more reason to get out of here and find Sam," said Lara intensely, look up at them. "By the way, what are you lot standing on?"

Sora, Sun, and Penny all blinked, looking surprisingly clueless. A brief review of their situation showed that they were, in fact, standing on top of one another, and when she realized it, Lara's buckled and all of them fell to the floor with a mighty _**crash**_! The Oni stopped, turned towards the sound, and spotted Sora's group lying in a pile in the middle of the hallway. One of the armored demons shouted something in their language and the entire platoon raised their fists and weapons with thunderous bellows. The Oni rushed towards them as they jumped up in a panic.

"Bug out!" shouted Sun.

Sora, Sun, Penny, and Lara scrambled in random directions; Lara and Penny smacked into each other before they got turned around and ran in opposite directions. When the group had split off down different sections of the monastery, the Oni leading the platoon shouted something in their tongue and the demon warriors divided into four sections.

Though he could hear the Oni stampeding behind him, Sora was putting considerable distance between them at a remarkable pace. Though it seemed like the inappropriate time, the spiky-haired boy couldn't help noticing that he had been getting noticeably faster in the past few weeks. Maybe it was because of his muscles were getting stronger from having to carry Crescent Rose, or maybe he was developing his own semblance; Sora really hoped it was the latter. But in either case, the scythe wielder was sprinting down the corridors, expertly dodging the pools of gore and bones as the sounds of their stomping were getting farther and farther away.

Sora turned the corner and started running down long stretch of hall when an Oni suddenly jumped out from behind one of the tall statues, wielding an enormous spiked club with one hand and bringing it down. The spiky-haired adventurer quickly ground his heels into the floor and flipped backwards to narrowly avoid the bludgeon as it smashed into the floor, making a spider-web pattern in the stone. Sora reached for the back of his belt and whipped out Crescent Rose in its Scythe Mode with a twirl of his hands, stabbing the blade into the floor to make his point. The Oni, not at all impressed by Sora's ability, howled monstrously and lifted its club off the ground.

The Oni took a step forward and swung its club around the air, but Sora ducked underneath and the club ended up smashing the statue through the waist, causing it to collapse sideways. Sora lifted himself up using Crescent Rose as a support and shot both feet into the Oni's face. But as the spiky-haired boy soon discovered, the Oni were built as strong as tanks and the demon warrior rebuffed the scythe wielder. Sora hit the floor feeling a slight tingle run up his legs to the base of his spine. Note to self, Sora thought, never do that again.

The Oni brought down its club on top of Sora and the spiky-haired boy turned slightly on his side so that the blunt weapon only missed his face by an inch. Before the Oni could lift its weapon again, Sora reached for Crescent Rose's handle and squeezed the trigger. The gunshot rang out and the Oni's leg buckled underneath it; black blood splattered the floor behind it. Sora squeezed the trigger again and the gunshot ripped through the Oni's chest; black gunk spilled through the new hole in its front and exploded through its back. The Oni leaned forward against its club with its hand pressing against its new wound, but the monster would not fall.

"Wow," said Sora, sounding impressed. "And I thought Penny was tough."

The Oni snapped its head up at Sora, no doubt glaring through the holes in its mask, and lifted itself to full height with its club raised and an earsplitting howl. Sora reloaded and shot two bullets at the Oni's chest, effortlessly ripping through its outdated armor, but the demon warrior somehow ignored the wounds and took a step forward, swinging its club down. The spiky-haired boy flipped over on Crescent Rose's shaft and the club smashed the floor. Sora ripped his scythe from the ground, hefted it over his shoulder, and reloaded the magazine. Just as he was prepared to counter attack, both he and the only felt the ground tremble beneath them. The two of them looked down at the feet, watching at the cracks in the stone weave together and spread from one side of the corridor to the other. Before either of them had a chance to run for safety, the floor gave out and they both fell through.

Sora only dropped a few feet, but his tailbone was sore when he landed on a mixture of mud and gravel. The Oni landed behind him with a squelching splat. Together, they began sliding down the slippery slope. It looked like they had landed in a series of underground tunnel under the monastery; Sora wondered in Lara knew about them. But they slipped further and further underground, the tunnel gradually started to narrow until, just up ahead, the only safe passage was a thin channel inside a wall of rock. Sora hastily folded Crescent Rose, held it to his chest, and went stiff as a board. By some good fortune, Sora managed to "thread the needle" and safely slipped into the strait. The Oni was not so fortunate; Sora winced at the loud _**crunch**_ that echoed.

Sora continued sliding for a few ore second until the narrow passage opened up and the boy was suddenly freefalling. The spiky-haired boy flailed his arms wildly as he plummeted several feet before he splashed into the cool body of water below. He was disoriented; flashes of shapes and colors filled his vision. Sora shook his head, which was a little hard to do underwater, opened his eyes, which were now free of the dizziness, and kicked his feet to propel himself upwards. He breached the surface with a loud gasp, taking a moment to catch his breath, and looked around.

He landed in some kind of underground lake; a few waterfalls were spilling through the holes in the ceiling and there was a small island of grass in the middle. Sora waded to the island and crawled to land on his hands and feet; Crescent Rose tucked safely under his arm. He took a deep breath out of relief and fell back on his butt, shaking his spiky hair, which was drooping slightly from wetness. He looked back up at the hole he entered from.

"Safe to say I'm not going back that way," said Sora. "Why did we think it was a good idea to split up? Now I have no idea where the others are…. I hope they're okay…."

"You worry too much. Everything will work out as I said it would."

Sora sat up straight. He recognized that voice. It belonged to that woman he talked to in the village; it was Ruby. But it didn't sound like she was talking to him.

The current handler of Crescent Rose heard the shuffling footsteps echoing louder through the tunnel off the side of the lake, getting closer by the second. If it was Ruby like Sun and Penny thought it was, then he shouldn't have a reason to be afraid, right? But for some reason, Sora was compelled to dive back into the water so that only the top of his head was partially visible. The boy waded behind a patch of rocks and carefully peaked through.

Moments later, the woman emerged from the tunnel – her bloody-red cloak billowing behind her – but she was not alone. A tall, bare-footed man draped in a dirty black hood with a tattered white sash over his shoulders shuffled alongside her, leaning against a crudely fashioned spear made from assorted knives and a buzzsaw. The man seemed to have trouble keeping up with the woman's long strides; he was walking with a limp.

"You've been trapped on this island for what? Ten, twenty years now?" said Ruby smoothly. "I thought you would jump for joy at the chance to get off this godforsaken spit of land. Or has the great Father finally lost his nerve in the face of a little girl?"

"My mettle is not in question, I can assure you," said the man firmly. "My concern is how to go about your plan. Croft has been on this island for less than a week and already she has murdered more than half of my followers. That's not including the dozens of Guardians she slaughter during her exploration to the tombs. The woman cannot possibly be human. And those strangers that arrived yesterday – I don't know what to think of them."

Sora recognized the voice. It was Mathias, Lara and Sam's friend. But why was he here? Wasn't he supposed to be back at camp? And how does he know Ruby – if it really is Ruby? So many questions….

"Their names are Sun and Penny; they're good friends," said Ruby, partially smiling under her hood. "Though I have no idea who the kid is. It hurts me – it physically hurts me – to watch him swing around my precious Crescent Rose the way he did against the Beowolf. He barely knows how to hold her, let alone to use her in a proper form. I wonder where he found her anyway…haven't held her in my hands for close to…ten years…."

"If you are quite finished walking down memory lane," said Mathias impatiently. "If we go forward with your plan, we are going to make some very dangerous enemies – Croft in particular is most worrisome. I've seen what she can do; I know what she _will_ do if she catch me. If I am going to risk my life for your plan, I want to make absolutely sure – "

"That girl is the key to your freedom, old timer!" Ruby interrupted sharply, prodding him in the chest with a finger; sounded like she was losing patience. "And I have my own reasons for wanting this to happen! All you have to do is march down to camp, grab the girl, and take her to the summit to perform the ritual! Easy peasy lemon squeezy."

"And how do you expect me to – " Mathias started.

"If you're that scared of them, take the Storm Guard with you," said Ruby impatiently, shoving him back. "Even if they can't kill Croft and the others, they can at least buy you enough time to complete the ascension ritual. Once Himiko is resurrected, the storms around Yamatai will disappeared and you'll be free to leave. And I'll have Himiko all to myself."

"What could you possibly from standing against the Sun Queen?" asked Mathias. "It's suicidal."

"I could explain it to you," said Ruby teasingly, "But I'm scared your brain might explode if you knew everything. You just worry about getting the girl to the summit" – she reached into her cloak and pulled out a silver pocket watch with a red rose sigil on the face – "Oh, will you look at the time. I'm late; I'm late, for a very important date! Not an actual date, like going out with a boy – or a girl; rights to sexuality and all that - but a very important meeting with someone very important, about some very important plans. In case you haven't figured it out, it's very important. I'm babbling, aren't I? Well, I'll just get out of your hair, then."

The woman in red tucked the pocket watch back underneath her cloak and pulled out another trinket. It looked like a golden medallion with a topaz diamond stamped in the center marked with strange symbols around the edges. Ruby mumbled something under her breath – Sora thought he heard something that sounded like "Springing" and "Caster" or something similar. The jewel growled bright yellow, a beam of light shot out, and the air rippled away until a portal of swirling space hovered above the ground. Mathias and Sora shared similar expressions of shock and awe as Ruby approached the portal, but not before turning back to Mathias and saying:

"Don't screw this up, okay? I'd hate to have to do the same thing I did with those other guys to you.

Mathias reached for his neck as if the woman had slit his throat. Ruby giggled playfully, stepped through the portal, and both faded into nothingness. The underground passage had gone silent, save for the rushing waterfalls and Mathias' ragged breathing. Mathias gathered his wit about him, turned sharply back the way he came, and shuffled away.

"Disrespectful little trollop, thinking she can order me around," Mathias muttered disdainfully. "Just you wait, little girl. Oh, just you wait. If what you say is true, then Himiko will reward me more than just my freedom.

Sora waited until her couldn't hear the clatter of Mathias' spear before he swam around the rock formation and pulled himself back onto the island. He shivered as the cavern breeze swept over him; he had been in the water way longer than he should have. What he wouldn't give for a fire right about now.

So Mathias and the woman, who had made it clear that she was indeed Ruby Rose, were working together; possibly have been working together since they first met. The way Sun and Penny always talked about Ruby, you would think that she was god's gift to the universe. But the way she spoke to Mathias – attacking their campsite, sending monsters to hunt them, resurrecting Himiko in exchange for personal gain – she seemed less of a hero and more of a villain in his mind.

Sora started contemplating whatever reason that Ruby would change so dramatically (then again, she has been missing for ten years), but before he could get too far, the spiky-haired boy heard yelling from above. A lot of yelling.

The scythe-wielder looked up at the many holes that dotted the stone ceiling as the yelling got stronger along with the noise of bodies scraping against rock. Imagine his surprise when Lara dropped down from the hole into the center and splashed into the lake. Then Penny popped out from a hole on the right, and Sun from and entrance on the opposite side. One by one they each surfaced and paddled towards the little island. They looked no worse for wear when he left them. While Lara was mildly exhausted and had a couple new scratches, Sun and Penny were fit and well – the joys of aura, Sora thought.

"Looks like you made it out okay," said Sora, helping Lara up like a gentleman.

"Barely," said Lara tiredly. "I tried taking the same path as last time, but it's not easy when the whole damn temple collapses around you…. How'd you lot make out?"

"I fell through the floor while fighting an Oni," said Sora.

"I took the sewer hatch in the kitchens," said Penny.

"Well, aren't you guys lucky," mumbled Sun irritably. "I got lost and wound up in the bathroom with a couple of Oni…. I've fought psychopathic terrorists, man-killing robots, and the Grimm, but what I saw in there…it'll haunt me forever."

"Well, at least you have your health," said Penny, slapping his shoulder. "Physical health, at least."

"By now, the whole monastery will be on high alert," said Lara, brushing the dangling wet hairs out of her face. "It'll be impossible to get back inside now. While I am sorry we couldn't find your friend, I need to get back to camp. We've left Sam and Mathias alone long enough as it is."

"Mathias…," said Sora slowly, and then spoke up. "Oh yeah, Mathias! Mathias was here!"

"What?" said Lara confused.

"Yeah, I saw him standing right over there," said Sora, pointing towards the cavern entrance. "He was talking about you, Lara. He was saying how you 'murdered more than half of his followers'."

"Wait a moment, Sora," said Lara seriously, grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing him to look her in the eye. "Was Mathias wearing a long hood with a stole – that's a long cloth over the shoulders – and carrying a makeshift spear?" – Sora silently nodded. Lara turned away roughly, hands on her head and cursing loudly – "Bloody gobshite! How could I 'ave been so stupid!"

"Lara, what's wrong?" asked Penny worried.

"Mathias…," said Lara in a low tone of voice. "His followers…they were the cultists that I told you about, the ones that 'ave been after Sam and I since we first set foot on the island. They're a bunch o' nutters who think that reviving Himiko is the answer to escaping Yamatai. They've been trying to capture us for a while for their ascension ritual, but I've always been able to keep us safe. How could I've been so blind?"

"The ritual!" shouted Sora suddenly. "I heard him talking to…."

The spiky-haired boy stopped himself short of saying Ruby's name, which earned some curious stares from his traveling party. He felt conflicted. He knew that he should have been honest and told them the truth: he saw Ruby and was the one that told him to go ahead with the ritual. But if he did tell them the truth, would they believe him. In Sun and Penny's minds, Ruby was a woman that could do no wrong. They could accuse him of making up stories because he's jealous of Ruby and doesn't want to give up Crescent Ross, which is partially true. And even if they did believe him, they would stop at nothing to turn Ruby back to their side, which could get either one of them hurt based on what Sora saw. In his mind, there was only one option…. Sora felt very dirty.

"…to the Oni," Sora continued. "He was talking to the Oni. He said he was headed down to the campsite to take Sam for the Ascension Ritual."

"And you're only telling us this now!" Lara yelled, pulled the hapless boy up by the collar. "Son of a – move!"

The panicking archaeologist threw Sora to one side, shoved Sun and Penny out of the way, and disappeared into the tunnel. Sora scrambled to his feet and chased after her with Sun and Penny following behind. He had a really bad feeling about this….

* * *

Sora doesn't quite remember the route they took to escape the cavern and make their way down the mountain; he was too busy trying to keep up with Lara; the woman was running like she was being chased by a swarm of Grimm. They had stumbled their way through the village, haphazardly climbed the dangerously tall rock wall – Lara had made a lot of careless mistakes and nearly fell more than once – and unsteadily traversed zip line across the gorge into the jungle. Lara was cutting a path through the foliage with her axe like a mad woman, narrowly taking Sun's head off when he got too close. When they reached the hidden alcove that served as their campsite, Lara suddenly stopped in her tracks, nearly causing Sora's to run into her; the climbing axe slipped through the lacking fingers and clattered hopelessly on the rocks.

Sora leaned around the taller woman and winced internally. It looked like the whole place had been hit by a tornado, which was a distinct possibility given where they were. The campfire had been crushed underfoot; still weakly burning embers lay scattered around the stone floor. Broken tree branches and crumpled leaves were strewed in every corner while the flat stones that had served as seats were broken into piles of pebbles. Backs had been ripped open and all of their personal belongings had been tossed and broken so carelessly; Lara bent down and picked up the remains of what used to be a camera.

"Sam…they took her…," said Lara weakly. "Mathias…he took her…. I should have been here to keep her safe, but instead I was busy chasing after your imaginary witch," she added harshly to them."

"I see where this is going, but don't worry, Lara," said Sun, gently touching her shoulder. "We'll get Sam back – all of use. I promise."

"I don't get it," said Sora, scratching the back of his head. "Why'd they want to take Sam in the first place? They're not gonna….?"

"No, the Oni wouldn't dare 'defile' Sam," said Lara in an even tone, "and they're not going to kill her because they need her for the Ascension Ritual, so there's small comfort in that."

"What is the Ascension Ritual exactly?" asked Penny. "I get that it might have something to do with resurrecting Himiko, but how's it supposed to work. And more importantly, why do they need Sam for it? I'm under the impression that you two aren't the first women to wash up on Yamatai."

"It must be because of that," Lara mumbled. "But how did Mathias find out? We were careful not to mention it to anyone?"

"Mention what?" asked Sun curiously.

"I told you that I started the expedition to Yamatai as a means to prove myself in the archaeologic world," said Lara," but what I neglected to mention was that it was Sam who pushed my interest towards the search in the first place. You see, before we graduated from the university, Sam was looking over her family history for a final project. Turns out, her ancestors can be traced back all the way to Yayoi Period Japan. Sam had me help her do some in-depth reading – because she's too lazy to do it herself – and happened to stumble across an amazing discovery: Sam ancestors came from Yamatai."

"You think Sam is Himiko's descendant?" asked Sora.

"Himiko never had children," said Lara, shaking her head. "Most likely, it was one of Himiko's vassals that managed to escape the island before it was taken by the storms. And because of that, Sam came up with the crazy notion of being the first people to rediscover the lost island. I was more than eager to have my name written in history. We didn't want to rely on our family's fortunes for help, so we started pulling together anyone that would care to join us on our expedition. It's not easy when you barely have a pound to your name. But we managed to find a crew in the end, and we plotted our course based on old texts and Japanese naval maps."

"And then you found Yamatai," said Penny.

"And everything went downhill after that," said Lara mournfully. "We lost so many good people just getting here. The ones that survived the shipwreck didn't survive the island itself. Reyes…Jonah…Grim…Alex…Roth…. The only ones left we Sam and I. The nutters on the island, the Solarii, they are a bunch of cultist fanatics that believe the only way to escape the island is by resurrecting Himiko. But if they went through with the Ascension Ritual, then Sam would die and Himiko would be free to spread her wrath across the world. We couldn't let that happen, so we kept quiet about Sam relation to Himiko while I…took care of the Solarii."

"Well, they found out somehow," said Sun, crossing his arms. "You think Sam might've let it slip to Mathias, since they were friends and all?"

"No, I told Sam under absolutely no circumstances were she to tell anyone," said Lara firmly. "They must have out from someone else. But who?"

Sora bit his lip, fighting back to urge to tell them about a certain red-hooded woman.

"Ah, it doesn't matter," grumbled Lara, bending down to pick up her axe. "If they were going to perform the Ascension Ritual, they'll have taken Sam to the highest point of the island: the ziggurat atop the monastery. They couldn't have gotten too far ahead of us. If we leave now – "

A shadow jumped from a ledge above the alcove and dropped down behind Lara; the ground quivered with a dull thud. Before any of them had a chance to react, four bone-white, knife-like nails ripped through the front of Lara's chest. The archaeologist gasp and coughed; droplets of crimson splashed the stone floor and a thin stream ran through the corner of her mouth. The nails pulled back – Lara's face twisted in pain – leaving four large holes in her shirt; red splotches were growing at a frightening rate around the blue fabric. Lara dropped sideways like a puppet that had its strings snipped. Standing above her downed form, snarling darkly at Sora, was the scarred beowolf.

"Lara!" Sora shouted.

Sora, Sun, and Penny jumped together – their weapons drawn – and attacked the scar-faced Grimm, but the Beowolf leaped back out of their range; their weapons smashed through the rock on the ground. While Sora and Sun draw back their tools, glaring at the Beowolf, Penny dropped everything, spun around, and kneeled down to be at level with Lara. The Atlesian android's hand hovered over the bleeding archaeologist; a hidden hatch opened in the middle of her palm and projected a green light over the wounds. The holes in Lara's chest closed at a phenomenal rate, seamlessly stitched the skin back together as if nothing had happened.

"I closed off her exterior wounds," shouted Penny in a panick, "but she may still have some internal bleeding! Try to hold it off while I apply emergency medical treatment!"

"Take your time," said Sun, swinging Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. "It's just one Grimm. We can handle it."

But as the Monkey Faunus announced this, the Beowolf suddenly reared itself up and howled into the jungle canopy. Shadowy figures marched into view at the top of the rock formation, jumping over the edge, and landing in a circle around the heroes with ground-shaking thuds. Sora and Sun pushed back-to-back next to Penny and Lara as twelve Storm Guard Oni soldiers growled menacingly around them, waving their weapons threatening above their heads. The scarred Beowolf barked once, then leaped to the top of the rock formation and disappeared.

It's an ambush!" shouted Sora.

"Hey, Penny, remember when I said take your time?" said Sun anxiously. "Yeah, change of plans. Work fast!"

"I can't just patch someone up at the snap of my fingers!" snapped Penny. "Oh, why can't everyone just be a robot?"

The Oni howled and charged in on the group. Sora pulled the bolt action of Crescent Rose, pointed the head behind him, and shouted to Sun and Penny ("Get down!"). The Faunus and the android dropped at the moment Sora squeezed Crescent Roe's trigger and the gunshot rang out through the jungle; flocks of birds flew away in fright. The gunshot propelled the weapon forward with Sora raising himself on one foot and allowed the momentum to carry them both in in a repeated rotation. The scythe's blade sliced through the armor like wet paper and cut through the stomachs, spilling copious amounts black, tar-like blood on the ground. In spite of the grievous wounds, the cursed soldiers did not falter.

As their circle tightened and the Oni raised spiked clubs above their heads, Sora pressed his foot into the ground to stop himself from spinning and reloaded the rifle. The spiky-haired boy pulled the trigger as the demons started to arch their weapons overhead and the sniper-scythe propelled him into the Oni he was facing. The cursed soldier made a confused grunting sound before Sora's feet smashed through his mask, and quite possibly broke his nose. The Oni soldier fell on his back; Sora tucked and rolled back to his safely in the grass, turning on the demons.

"Hey, ugly!" shouted Sora; the Oni faced him. "Hah! I said 'ugly' and you looked!"

"Good one!" Sun laughed.

The Oni snapped back at Sun, growling; the Monkey Faunus launched himself over their heads, using their faces as stepping stones, and landed next to Sora. The Storm Guard then split off into two groups: half chasing after the boys and the other half staying with the girls.

The six Oni soldiers closed their circle tighter around Penny, who was working diligently on Lara without taking her eyes off the patient. One of the Storm Guard stepped forward, howling, and brought its spiked club down on top of the android's head. Without looking up, Penny shot her hand up and caught the blunt instrument in mid-swing. She closed her fingers around the tool, and even though the soldier was tugging at its weapon with its whole body, Penny was not letting go even as she worked on Lara. When another of the Storm Guard raised its weapon, Penny pulled at the club and shot the Oni above her head to crash into the other, sending them both crashing down. The pair started to pick themselves up, but were suddenly pinned in place when four of Penny' Marionette Swords threaded through their bodies and anchored them to the ground.

The remaining four Storm Guard soldiers stepped back in confusion and fear. They wearily eyed the floating ring of single-edged sword circling above Penny's head; it was unlikely they had seen anything more advanced than a toaster on the island. Then one brave demonic soldier took a step closer to the woman and Penny, whose attention was still on healing Lara, swiped her hand and the sword reacted in turn. The eight blades buried themselves in the shoulders of the Storm Guard's armor as the Marionette strings went taut, pulling the Oni down until they were forced to their knees. The Atlesian Android could feel the strings tugging through the opening in her back, and curiosity compelled her to take a peek. Though they were momentarily pinned down, the demonic soldiers were still fighting against the swords whereas most would be rolling over in pain.

"They're not staying down when we hit them!" yelled Penny.

"Well, they aren't called the unbeatable army for nothing!" retorted Sun.

The monkey Faunus leaped into the air as another Storm Guard soldier brought down its club, expertly balancing himself on top of the weapon with one foot. Sun raised his other foot and slammed it against the Oni's masked face, making the soldier reel back. Another soldier appeared from his right side and jabbed its weapon. Sun turned on his heel, swung Ruyi Bang (or Jingu Bang), and wrapped the chain of his shotgun-nunchaku around the bulk of the club. He grabbed Ruyi Bang (or Jingu Bang – seriously, he needs to label this stuff) by the handles and pulled against the club as it changed course. Instead, the club went around Sun's side and jabbed the Storm Guard on his opposite side, making the Oni bend over, then tugged at the chains again to slam the underside of the soldier's chin to knock him on his back. At the same time, Sun masterfully turned with the curve of the club, raised his second shotgun-nunchaku, and shot the Storm Guard in the face point blank; the cursed warrior stumbled while holding its face.

Meanwhile, the first Storm Guard recovered himself from Sun's kick and lurched forward with his right fist swinging for the Faunus' head. The monkey Huntsman bended backwards by his knees, dodging the knuckle by a hair's breadth, then straightened himself back up. Sun twirled Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang with a mocking grin and swiped them upwards at the Storm Guard's chin. The soldier's helmet and mask flew up in the air and Sun came face-to-face with the thing underneath; the monkey Faunus nearly tossed his breakfast (which wasn't much of a breakfast to begin with). What Sun saw underneath was so unbelievably horrific that the government made it illegal to describe in this fic.

Sun deftly snatched the helmet and mask out of the air and slammed them down back on the Oni's head, purposely setting them backwards. He followed up by cracking his shotgun-nunchaku against the helmet, which oddly enough made a gong sound. The Storm Guard soldier mumbled something in its native language as it staggered around dizzily until it smacked into one of the trees and fell down. To add insult to injury, let's add a coconut dropping on its head.

"Word of advice," said Sun. "Do NOT take off their helmets!"

"How is that advice?" yelped Sora, ducking under a Storm Guard's club. "Advice would be something that helpful!"

"Since when you turn into a killjoy?" Sun accused, frowning.

"I'm not a – AUGH!" cried Sora; a Storm Guard got a lucky shot at his chest.

The spiky-haired warrior slid back a ways, but he buried the blade of Crescent Rose into the dirt to slow himself. Sora rubbed his hand over his chest from where the Oni's club had struck him. His aura may have protected him from the brunt of the attack, but that didn't mean it still didn't hurt.

The Storm Guard soldiers rushed at him again and Sora pulled back the bolt action and swiveled Crescent Rose's head before taking a shot at each of the demons. Chunks of their armor broke off and splashes of black ooze spilled over the grass, but the Storm Guard treated the wound as if it were a mosquito bite. The first Storm Guard slammed its club over his head and Sora threw himself over Crescent Rose's pole, flipping onto the opposite as the ground he once stood on was ripped apart. He flipped again as the second Storm Guard attacked and balanced himself on Crescent Rose's pole. When the third Oni came after him, Sora leaned back to tilt Crescent Rose's into the soldier's chest and pulled the trigger; the Storm's Guard's chest exploded and it was knocked off its feet.

Sora skillfully flipped backwards back on the ground and turned himself on his heel, ripping his scythe from the ground and swinging around in a full circle. Crescent Rose sliced across the Storm Guard's necks and a waterfall of black ooze spilled over their fronts. Unfortunately, the Oni soldiers did not fall and one of them swung their club when he least expected it that sent him flying across the area.

Sora crashed in the middle of the campsite, rolling over the dead embers and tossing around the broken remains of the site. Crescent Rose clattered next to him when Sora heard something crack. Momentary panic filled his chest as he hastily retrieved the weapon and looked it over. Beyond the scratches that came from over a decade of use, the cartridge had been cracked in half, spilling the few remaining bullets he had left. Sora ejected the broken cartridge and poked around in his right pocket for another. But when he reached inside, he felt nothing….

"Oh, that's right," said Sora, cursing himself. "I have had a chance to stock up since we haven't visited Traverse Town in a while. There could not be any worse timing."

The Storm Guard were picking themselves up; the soldiers surrounding Sun were closing in on him, and Sora could tell it was only a matter of time before Penny's swords came loose. The situation was looking bad. As a handful of the Storm Guard approached him, Sora desperately reached into his left pocket; relief washed over his face when his finger made contact and pulled the object out. One look at the scratched covering and Sora remembered that he still had the case of Fire Dust from yesterday. Sun said he couldn't be trusted to use Dust jut yet (his specific word were "might blow his foot off"), but given the circumstances….

"Better than nothing," said Sora. He loaded the scratched magazine in Crescent Rose's slot and shifted the weapon to Gun Mode. "Fire in the hole! Oh God, that was a terrible pun even for me."

He pulled the trigger. An explosion like a crack of thunder rippled throughout the jungle, frightening every creature that inhabited the area with its sound. Everyone from Sun, Penny, and the Storm Guard all turned and stared with wide eyes and open mouths.

The Fire Dust bullet shattered against the Storm Guard soldier and instantly the semi-immortal warrior was doused in a coat of raging-hot flames. What shocked them the most was the way the Storm Guard reacted. While all previous wounds had done nothing to faze them, the Storm Guard thrashed its arms around, screaming in its native tongue and reaching out to its comrades, who immediately backed away from the burning demon. The soldier wailed and flailed for several long seconds before the monster dropped to its knees and fell face forward on the ground; the flames died out soon after, but the soldier did not move.

Sora stared in amazement at the lump of charcoal and turned his head up at the other two Storm Guards; they stared in return. He quickly fired off two shots and both soldiers fell as their comrade.

"I think I found their weakness!" shouted Sora jubilantly. "It's like they're…allergic to fire or something!"

"Ironic considering they serve a Sun Goddess," commented Sun.

"Beginning munitions rotation sequence," said Penny monotonously; her eyes shifted from green to red. "Inserting alternative fuel source – Fire Dust accepted. Beginning Dust-fusion injection."

An aura of red energy climbed through the opening in Penny's back and traveled along the strings of the Marionette Swords. Once they reached the blades, the icons changed from green to red and spark exploded off the swords before the Storm Guard burst into flames; their cries could be heard for miles. Sun, on the other hand, tossed his shotgun-nunchaku combo in the air while simultaneously ejecting its current ammunition. He pulled out a handful of shotgun cases from his back pockets and inserted them into his weapon as they came down, skillfully catching them in the swing. Shot after shot, Sun blasted the Storm Guards at point blank range, settling back to watch them run in circles as they burned to ash.

In a matter of minutes, all that remained of the Storm Guard were twelve smoldering, foul-smelling bodies lying around the campsite. Sora and Sun folded their weapons and settled them on the back of their belts as Penny retracted the swords in the hidden hatch in her back.

"That could've gone badly," said Sun, punching Sora in the shoulder playfully. "Nice job out there, kid. You really stepped up for a change."

"Yeah, I – hey, what do you mean 'for a change'?" Sora questioned, scowling; Sun grinned teasingly.

"Guys…"

Penny called them, but her voice sounded a little off. Both boys turned over to their android friend and it suddenly dawned on them: they had forgotten about Lara!

Sora and Sun scrambled over and kneeled down next to the archaeologist, their faces twisted with worry. Ignoring the bloodstains on her shirt, she looked relatively healthy, but there was something foreboding about the way Penny stood over their friend. Her fingers were pressed against Lara's neck the same way one would check for a pulse, her mouth open in a silent gasp. Very slowly, Penny looked to them and spoke; her voice was barely a whisper.

"Lara…she…she's…."

* * *

 **And I think that'll about do it for this chapter. I think this is the first time I actually left the story in a cliffhanger, which I and slightly proud of at this point. And this also marks the first time that Sora's gang has ever defeated an enemy outside the Heartless on their own – in all previous occasions, they had an ally like Ganta, or Neo, or Fairy Tail to pull their butts out of the fire. This is a sign of their growth as a team, especially Sora, who made the first kill. And this chapter is also the first of a long overarching plot surrounding Ruby Rose's mysterious disappearance and sudden reappearance, which will play a heavy role in the future of the series.**

 **VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE**

 **I have just finished the first chapter of my original series, We are SHDO: Year One, and this is your chance to play a part in it. At the end of the chapter, there is a sign of form where you will have the chance to submit an Original Character (OC) to have a role in the story. If any of you would like to participate, please head over to and fill out the form as offered. The remaining spots are:**

 **Team GRNT (Granite) – T**

 **Please take this opportunity to try out. And until next time, please read and review.**


	14. Raiders of the Lost Souls, Part 3

**Chapter Thirteen: Raiders of the Lost Souls, Part 3**

The gathering around the reconstructed campfire was a solemn affair. The sun had set over the horizon as Sora, Sun, and Penny sat around the roaring flames, which had a faint smell of blood from the fabric they were forced to burn. Though they had managed to repel the demon soldiers in addition to discovering their weakness, they could fight back the feeling of overwhelming defeat in their stomachs. Mathias had tricked all of them, masquerading as their friend to lower their guard, kidnapped Sam when they were away, and Lara was…. Sora ran a hand through his unreasonably spiky hair, staring into the fire hopelessly.

"What're we supposed to do now?" asked Sora. "Do we go after them or…?"

"They'll have the entire monastery on high alert by now," said Penny, stoking the flames. "There'll be over hundreds of those monsters guarding every part of the temple. They'll want to make sure that nothing gets in the way of Himiko's resurrection."

"So that's it?" said Sora. "We're just supposed to sit here and wait for them to bring an insane, evil goddess? We all know what's going to happen if they go through with the ritual. Not only will the worlds be in danger from that witch, but if what Lara said was right, if Himiko transfers her soul into Sam's body, then Sam will die. I can't just let them get what they want. Not after what they did to Lara."

"Well, unless you have a way of sneaking to the ziggurat without having to go through a hundred nearly-immortal soldiers," said Sun helplessly.

"I might know a way up there, but it'll be risky," said a feminine voice from behind the bushes.

The three world jumpers turned around as the shrubbery parted and Lara Croft stepped into the light of the campfire, adjusting her new top with some annoyance. After the Beowolf had sliced the archaeologist open and covered her entire front in blood, Penny had strongly urged Lara to change clothes to reduce the risk of infection. Lara argued that she was fine and that their main priority she be to rescue Sam, but Penny countered ("How do you think Sam would feel knowing you were dead?" she asked her). It was an underhanded tactic below the belt, Sora and Sun agreed, but it had the desired effect; Lara conceded to a change of wardrobe.

At first, they wondered how Lara was going to change when the Storm Guard had completely trashed their campsite. That's when Lara revealed she had found a crate labeled " **Tomb Raider: Classic Costume** " washed up on the shore the day she found Sora and had forgotten about it until now. Lara pried the crate open with her climbing axe and poked her head inside, surprised to find an entire wardrobe perfectly preserved inside – it seemed unrealistically convenient. She went to change behind the shrubbery, but not before shooting a threatening look to Sora and Sun ("Hey, I have a woman!" Sun defended).

When Lara came back, she was wearing a light-blue tank top similar to her old one, but now with criminally short shorts that showed a lot more leg than Sora was used to; the hormonal teenage boy went red in the face. The outfit had also come equipped with hardened brown combat boots, fingerless black gloves, and a belt with gun holsters that strapped to her thighs. Real working guns were included in the set for reasons that will never be explained, thought Lara still kept the climbing axe and curved bow on her person. Though Sora would never say it out loud, the archaeologist was as sexy as she was dangerous.

"Are you sure you should be moving around, Lara?" asked Penny. "You took a very severe wound to the chest. Your aura might have saved your life for now, but there's no telling if there are any lasting side effects or potential infections from the wounds. Perhaps you should take it easy for now."

"I'll rest easy after we save Sam," said Lara firmly, taking a seat next to Sora.

"I had no idea that you had aura, Lara," said Sora, sounding surprised.

"Honestly, neither did I," said Lara, touched the area where the wounds had been. "I've read about in ancient Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts about a supposed emanation surrounding the body of a living creature, viewed by mystics, spiritualists, and some practitioners of complementary medicine as the essence of the individual, and allegedly discernible by people with special sensibilities. I usually played it off as some spiritualist nonsense, but I suppose after Yamatai anything is possible."

"Where we're from aura is fairly common," said Penny, "though not a lot of people can use it willingly. It takes a lot of training to unlock. I suppose that when the Beowolf attacked, you unconsciously tapped into your aura and began healing your injuries."

"Well, at least I have something going for me," said Lara dismally.

"So what's this risky pathway you're talking about?" asked Sun. "Can't be any worse than going through an army of unstoppable demon warriors."

"We climb the side of the mountain," said Lara.

"And I stand corrected," Sun replied.

"Even if we do climb up the side of the mountain, which is very possible for us," Penny added to Sun, "there will still be plenty of Storm Guard soldiers surrounding the ritual grounds. With their numbers, it'll be impossible to sneak around without being spotted."

"I wasn't planning on sneaking anyway," said Lara firmly, unholstering her new fire arms. She took out the empty clips, grabbed a handful of the red-tipped Fire Dust shells that Sun had set out, and started loading the magazines. "If necessary, I'll take the ziggurat by storm. These bullets are some kind of fire starters, correct? And we know the Storm Guard have a weakness for fire. We Just load up on these…magic bullets or whatever…and make I can craft a few fire arrows from the cloth and alcohol lying around, then we can burn the lot of them to ash."

"We don't have a whole lot of Fire Dust to spare," said Sun, gesturing to the dwindling pile. "We've got thirty, maybe forty rounds left – that's not enough to take on a whole army of demons."

"We won't know until we try, will we?" said Lara stubbornly, jamming the bullets unnecessary rough in the clip.

"I know a bad plan when I see one – 'cause I'm the king of bad plans," said Sora, frowning, "but just rushing into a nest of super unstoppable monster warriors is just crazy."

"And what would you have me do?" growled Lara.

"I don't know," said Sora defensively, "but running in like chickens with our heads cut off – ("there's an image I didn't need in my head" said Sun) – isn't going to help save Sam. Maybe…maybe we should wait a minute to think up a plan – "

"We don't have a minute!" snapped Lara, jumping to her feet. Sora yelped in fright and fell backwards. "Don't you get it? Every moment we waste here sitting on our arses, Mathias is one step closer to reviving Himiko! I can't wait around for you lot to think of a plan while she's in that nutter's clutches! I have to save her!"

"We get that!" yelled Penny in return. "Believe us, if it was my father or Ciel, Sun and I would be the first people climbing that mountain! But that doesn't mean it would be the best decision, running into enemy territory without thinking things through! We aren't going to be much help to Sam if we're all dead!"

"You smarmy little – you just don't get it!" screamed Lara furiously. "How any of you possibly understand how important this is for me, how important Sam is to me! She's not just my best friend! I lo…."

The archaeologist cut herself off with a soft gasp, as if she was just now realizing what she was about to say. Her eyes turned downcast, slowly lowering herself back down with her elbows resting on her knees and burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking ever slightly and her breathing becoming hitched. She was muttering to herself; her voice muffled by her palms. Sora, Sun, and Penny looked to one another in a silent exchange of thoughts. From the short time that the three of them had known Lara and Sam, they could tell that there was something more going on between them than just ere friendship, but it seemed Lara didn't realize it herself until now.

Lara took a deep breath and sat up straight; her eye looked bloodshot as she wiped her face with the back of her arm.

"Please…Sam is all I have left," said Lara in a pathetically small voice. "I lost my family when I was a child, and I lost the only friends I had to this island. Sam is the only thing I have left in the world worth fighting for. If anything happens to her, I don't think I can…. I know I act like I can do anything. Being on this island has taught me what it takes to survive, but even so, I'm still just one person. As much as I don't want to admit it, I don't have what it takes to save Sam from Mathias alone. Please…I'm begging you lot…please help me save Sam…."

It was the first time that Lara had ever seemed so vulnerable, thought Sora. Behind all the dirt, scars, and muscle was just a woman as scared as Sora was – and Sora was really scared. And why would he? He was traveling to different worlds, being forced on a mission that would have killed him ages ago if it weren't for Penny and Sun. But as he exchanged meaningful glances with the Faunus and the android, he knew they didn't have the luxury of being scared. Not while there were people counting on them.

"We were going to do it without asking," said Sora, grinning. Lara looked relieved. "But we still have a problem with the whole army of unstoppable monsters thing. Even if we did manage to sneak past them, what's stopping them from chasing us up to the ziggle…zaggle…?"

"Ziggurat," offered Lara.

"Yeah, that thing," Sora nodded.

"Actually, I might have a solution for that," said Penny, grinning mischievously.

* * *

"Let me go, you psycho!" cried Sam. "Somebody, help! Lara!"

"Silence, child!" said Mathias, pulling the woman roughly by the arm. "Soon it'll all be over and our salvation will be at hand!"

Sam threw all her weight to break free of the delusional cult leader, but his years on trapped on the island, forced to survive, had made him too strong to escape from. She had a hard time believing that this man, whom she and Lara trusted as a friend, would be crazy enough to be the leader of the people trying to kill them. The way they marched into their campsite, showing his true colors, leading a platoon of demons to capture her for his oh-so-precious Sun Goddess. He bound her wrists behind her back and had the soldier's force her into a musky, old white dress for posture – Sam's skin crawled at the memory of their disease-ridden hands touching her body. The young woman was shaking and it had nothing to do with the high atmosphere and the cold wind; she just wanted Lara.

Mathias pulled at Sam again – she could feel a bruise starting to form on her bicep - as they reached the opposite side of the stone bridge over the wide chasm to a smaller temple-like structure opposite the monastery. The building was even more decrepit that the monastery; nearly half the building had been blown off, opening the area up to the stormy skies above. And as they reached the end of the bridge, two Storm Guard soldiers stood like sentinels in front of the temple entrance, their heads slowly turning towards Sam like hungry predators. When neither soldier attacked them, Mathias took it as a sign that they were permitted to enter the temple and pulled Sam alongside him.

"You're not gonna get away with this, you know!" snarled Sam, now dragging her feet on the floor; anything to slow the lunatic down. "Lara is gonna find you and she'll kill you!"

"I have no fear of Croft, not with Himiko as my protector," said Mathias. She gave Sam an extra hard tug and the woman nearly fell over on her knees. "Cease your protesting at once, child, and think about what your sacrifice will offer. You'll be giving back the freedom of every man that set foot on this accursed island. I can vouch that your name will be remembered for many years to come; perhaps some of them will even write song about you. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Yeah, who wouldn't be proud of letting loose an island of raving lunatics on the world?" hissed Sam sarcastically. "You have no idea how much trouble you're going to be in when Lara gets her hands on you. And if I'm being honest, I'm looking forward to watching her beat the crap out of you."

"You may as well stow your fantasy of false hope," said Mathias. "Croft and her friends won't be coming."

"Then apparently we didn't get the memo."

Mathias' eyes went wide with a glint of fear in his pupils as the child's voice echoed in the chasm. The cultist leader turned around and pulled Sam close to his chest and his spear held at her neck just in time to witness the Storm Guards suddenly burst into flames. The demon warriors howled and stumbled back and forth in a panic until their feet slipped over the edge of the chasm and plummeted into the depths below. Mathias was breathing heavy; fear started to swell in his chest. He pulled back with Sam as Sora, Lara, Sun, and Penny pulled themselves over the cliff edge, all of them glaring at Mathias. Lara drew her bow and Sora's team whipped out their weapons, but none of them took a shot, not while Mathias was using Sam as a human shield.

"Lara!" screamed Sam.

"Stay back!" shouted Mathias threateningly. "You can't stop the ritual! No one can!"

"Why are you doing this, Mathias?" asked Lara, her arrow hopefully aimed at the madman's head.

"Do you think you're the hero, Lara?" yelled Mathias. "Everything I've done I did to survive! How many lives have you taken to do the same? There are no heroes here, only survivors!"

"Himiko's dangerous, Mathias!" said Lara. "She's angry, she's vengeful, and he has real power! If you do this, you'll be unleashing untold devastation on the world!"

"A good trade for our freedom, I'd say!" said Mathias.

"You're out of your mind!" shouted Lara.

"And you are out of time!" said Mathias.

The raving madman pointed his spear to their backs, and Lara and the others hesitantly looked over their shoulders toward the monastery. Even through the raging winds, the group could hear the marching of nearly a hundred boots stomping on stone in perfect sync. Before too long, the first of the Storm Guard soldiers began to appear through the entryway on the opposite side of the bridge leading the rows of the demon warriors. The leading soldier finally caught sight of the intruders, howled into the wind, began the charge across the bridge.

All the same time, Mathias dashed into the ziggurat while Sora's group wasn't looking, pulling Sam along with him.

"Lara!" cried Sam.

"Sam!" shouted Lara.

"Go on, we'll take care of this!" said Sora. Lara looked hesitant at first, but watching the madman drag her beloved…someone away; she became steely-eyed and rushed to catch up with them. Sora turned back to his team. "Okay, Penny, you up for this?"

"I'm combat ready!" said Penny confidently.

The Atlesian android dashed forth to the end of the bridge and grounded herself as the Marionette Swords rose behind her. The Storm Guard soldiers were halfway across the bridge when the demonic soldier leading the pack suddenly ground his feet to a halt; his followers bumped into him from behind. Penny's Marionette Swords folded halfway into miniaturized guns that began to spin in a circular ring and a sphere of neon-green energy formed in the middle. The Storm Guard likely had no clue what the energy was, but they were smart enough to turn tail when they saw it. Unfortunately, due to their swelling numbers, the entryway to the monastery was congested; some Oni were actually throwing their comrades over the side to make their own way forward. Not that it would do them any good.

Once the aura sphere reached its zenith, Penny punched the energy with both fists and the sphere exploded into a massive beam of green light. The Storm Guards trapped on the bridge were immediately overwhelmed by the light and wiped away the demonic soldiers in seconds. After ripping through the legions of semi-immortal warriors, the beam disappeared through the entryway inside the monastery. Several explosions ripped through the temple; the shingled rooftops were tossed into the storm and the walls burst open in a spectacular blaze, throwing several dozen Storm Guard soldiers off the side of the mountain. The monastery creaked ominously through the howling winds, slowly started to tilt sideways, and gradually slid down the mountainside. Sora peaked over the edge, whistling is amazement as the temple – or what's left of it – disappeared into the fog below.

"That was awesome, Penny," complimented Sora.

"Thank…you…," said Penny exhaustedly. She dropped to her knees and fell forward on her hands; the Marionette Swords clattered uselessly around her. "Although…I fear I may have…overdone it…. Battery energy is dangerously low…. Must recharge systems…. I'm afraid…I won't be able…to help…any further."

"You've done more than enough," said Sun, clapping her shoulder. "You recharge your batteries while Sora and I go help Lara."

"It'll be quick," said Sora. "It's just one crippled old guy. How bad could it be?"

"…Did you really just say that?" said Penny, shaking her head with Sun. "You never – EVER – say that."

The spiky-haired boy raised his brow at them, but nonetheless shrugged the comment off and pushed past his teammates into the ziggurat. Sun chased after him shortly; Penny crawled tiredly off to the side.

The duo rushed inside the open-air chamber, but quickly dragged their feet to a halt and stepped back slightly when they saw the inside. A dome of unnaturally powerful wind currents was circling the raised platform in the center of the ziggurat that nearly pushed Sora and Sun away. Though it was difficult to see through the gale, they spotted Sam being forced to kneel at the top of the stairs while Mathias was hanging off to the side, opening his arms in ceremonial fashion. There was something kneeling opposite of Sam atop the plinth; it looked like a woman dressed in tattered remnants of what would have been very elegant robes. Was that Himiko, Sora wondered.

And there, lying face down at the base of the stairs was –

"Lara!" Sora cried. He and Sun rushed to her side immediately, pulling her up by her arms. "Lara, are you all right? Can you stand?"

"I'm…I'm fine," slurred Lara; she held her head with a grimace. "Mathias, I…I underestimated him. He's strong...much stronger than I was led to believe. Wait, Sam! Is she - ?"

"Oh, Great Queen!" Mathias chanted over the roar. "Through the trials, I have brought you the vessel! Pour forth, and return to this mortal coil! Pour forth, and be reborn! Pour forth, and awaken!"

The doll-like woman on the plinth suddenly reacted violently, flailing her body as the skin flaked off her face, screaming into the wind. A field of blue energy formed around her and tendrils formed along the sphere, snapping at Sam. Sora visibly winced as Sam's cries joined Himiko's and the young woman was forcibly raised off the floor by the energy tendrils until she was parallel with the Sun Queen's rotting corpse.

"SAM!" screamed Lara.

The archaeologist desperately pushed off Sora and Sun, withdrew her sidearm, and shot on of the Fire Dust bullets at Himiko's body in seconds. But before the bullet could connect with its target, Mathias suddenly jumped between and snapped the bullet away with his spear; the bullet burst into flames against one of the broken support beams. The cultist leader glowered at the trio as he jumped off the stairs and landed across from the heroes; he was surprisingly nimble for his age and injury.

"You can't stop it, Lara!" screamed Mathias. "The Sun Queen's return is at hand! Soon we shall leave this accursed island!"

"So that Himiko was just come back to kill you later!" shouted Sun. "I know first-hand that you can't trust people with too much power, Mathias! She'll betray you when she gets what she wants!"

"You hedonistic heretics!" snarled Mathias. "Do you know how many decades I had to endure the tortures of this island? How much I had to sacrifice to reach this point? If the Sun Queen should betray me eventually, I do not care! One way or another, I will leave this dreadful island behind! And I will kill anyone that tries to stop it!"

"Forget about him, he lost his chance!" said Lara, seething. "Just focus on Sam!"

"I got her!" said Sora.

Spinning Crescent Rose's muzzle backwards, Sora shot off another round and propelled himself with the recoil, flying toward the alter. Surprisingly enough, Mathias made an impressive leap in the air to intersect with Sora and kicked him off course. Sora hit the ground at a roll, but quickly corrected himself and charged at the cultist leader with Crescent Rose against his shoulder while Sun trailed behind, swinging his nunchaku. Mathias raised his spear parallel to himself as Sora attempted a swing from the side, showing an astonishing amount of strength being able to fend off Crescent Rose. The delusional survivor kicked the scythe-wielder in the stomach, making him double over, and followed up with a striking uppercut to the chin to knock him on his back.

As the boys from the islands hit the ground, Sun jumped over his partner and swung Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang over the mad cultist. Mathias swung his spear to swat away the first nunchaku, but the second swing smacked across his face, causing him to stumble lethargically. Growling in annoyance, Mathias pivoted on his heel and swiped the makeshift spear across the air, but Sun effortlessly ducked underneath the blade and kicked the survivor in the ankle. Mathias howled as his foot gave out and was forced to kneel as the monkey Faunus stood over him, swinging his nunchaku threateningly. Sun started to bring down his weapon when Mathias grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it in Sun's face. The Monkey Faunus coughed hoarsely while rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, leaving him vulnerable for Mathias to stand straight and slam his fist against the side of Sun's face.

Sun was thrown around, only managing to land on his hands and knees, as Mathias stood over him with a twisted grimace on his face. As the cultist leader raised his spear overhead with the bladed tip aimed for Sun's spine, a gunshot cracked through the howling winds and Mathias cried out, holding the bleeding wound in his shoulder. He shot a glare at Sora, who was reloading Crescent Rose with another round. The spiky-haired Huntsman-in-training fired off another round, but Mathias slipped underneath the bullet by a hair's breadth. He slipped his hand into his robe, pulled out a pistol similar to Lara's (coincidence?), and unloaded his clip on the scythe-wielder. Sora slipped behind some of the temple wreckage when Mathias started peppering him with bullets and ran a loop around the outer edge of the ziggurat as the insane survivor started a trail after him.

Mathias's attention was focused on Sora that he had completely forgotten about Sun, who was kneeling just underneath him. The monkey Faunus took advantage of Mathias's distraction, shot up to his feet, and landed a soldier right hook across the survivor's cheek – flecks of blood splattered the dirty ziggurat floor. Before the cultist leader could turn his gun on Sun, the monkey Faunus' tail snapped at his wrist, twisting it around until Mathias was forced to let go. Sun then kicked Mathias in the chest with both feet, making him stumble backward, and Sora came up from behind, sweeping delusional survivor off his feet with Crescent Rose. Mathias rolled off his back and twisted around on his knees, glaring at Sora and Sun whom was blocking the staircase to Himiko's alter.

"You can't win this, Mathias," said Sora. "One-on-one, you're pretty tough. But when we work together, you don't stand a chance."

"You fools!" shouted Mathias angrily as he stood. "Do you not understand what I am trying to accomplish in Himiko's resurrection? Once the Sun Queen is raised, we can finally leave this hellish land! We will finally be free! Why are you trying to hinder on our salvation?"

"Because the cost isn't worth it!" said Sun firmly.

"You would give up your freedom for the life of one mortal woman?" asked Mathias incredulously. "She is but a stranger to you – "

"We might not have known her for long, but Sam is still our friend!" said Sora. "And friends always look out for each other; something you'll never understand! And even if it means we can't escape now, all of us – me, Penny, Sun, Lara, and Sam – we'll all escape this island one way or another, because we have people waiting for us!"

"You ignorant little fools!" said Mathias, sneering. "You think Croft will – wait, where is Croft?"

Sora and Sun shot each other with a knowing smirk and looked behind them. Mathias followed their line of sight to the top of the staircase towards Himiko's alter, gasping in fright. Lara was trying to rip Sam away from the tendrils of Himiko's energy, but the field of life force burned at the archaeologist's touch, making it impossible to pull her best friend free. So instead, Lara pulled out one of the pistols strapped to her thigh, checked the magazine to make sure it was loaded with red-tipped bullets, and then pressed the barrel of the gun between the Sun Queen's eyes.

"NOOOOO!" Screamed Mathias.

The gunshot cracked through the wind tunnel…. The bullet hit the wall several inches from Himiko's head.

Lara cried out in pain as razor-sharp teeth buried themselves in the archaeologist's forearm; blood was dripping on the floor like raindrops; her gun clattered uselessly on the ground. For a moment, the survivor closed her eyes as white-hot pain flashed surged up and down her arm, the she felt dizziness as she was lifted off the ground by her wounded limb and thrown around like a rag doll. When the serrated teeth were finally dislodged from her arm, Lara was sent flying off the alter to the lower level. Thankfully, Sora and Sun stepped up and caught her in their collective arms, setting her down safely.

"You all right?" asked Sora in concern.

"Nothing worse than what I'm used to," said Lara, grimacing but still standing. "What the bloody hell was that, anyway?"

"Oh…crap…," muttered Sun.

Climbing down the staircase very slowly with its claws poised to slice and the scar across its mask prominent, the Beowolf growled ominously at the trio. But unlike their previous encounters, the Beowolf was twice as large with its long, muscular arms and legs covered in a wide spread of bone-like armor, and its teeth similar to that of a sabretooth. The enhanced Grimm reached the bottom of the staircase at a crouch, leveling its eyes with Sora, Sun, and Lara, who cautiously backed away from the monster.

"Is it just me, or is that Beowolf a long bigger than it was half-an-hour ago?" said Sora, wide-eyed.

"Himiko must have done something to make it evolve," said Sun. "It's an Alpha Beowolf – one of the strongest and smartest kind of Grimm there is."

"Do you see it now, heretics?" roared Mathias, stepping in beside the Alpha Beowolf. "Even this mindless beast knows that Himiko's time is at hand! Soon, the ritual will be complete, and we shall – "

Mathias was sharply cut off as the Alpha Beowolf swatted him to the side and flung him across the ziggurat, smashing through one of the support beams and burying him underneath a pile of wooden planks.

"Guess it's too late to ask if he's friendlier now," said Sun.

The Alpha Beowolf snarled, raised its serrated claws above, and slashed at the trio. Sora swiftly ducked out of the way and Sun pulled Lara in his arms bridal style before leaping into the air; the Alpha Beowolf's nails ripped through the stone like it was made of putty. Sora rolled into a crouched position, converted Crescent Rose into Gun Mode, peered through the rifle's scope, and shot a bullet for the back of the Grimm's skull. When the gunshot cracked through the air, the Alpha Beowolf's hand instinctively hot up to cover its head and caught the bullet in its palm. The round was tipped with Fire Dust, which caused it to explode in a burst of flames in the evolved werewolf's hand. Unfortunately, it did not seem that the Alpha Beowolf felt the explosion as it allowed the flames to eat away at its fur, exposing the raw-red flesh underneath before the fire died out. The Alpha Beowolf turned its narrow head on Sora and pounced.

Meanwhile, Sun landed at the base of the staircase and dropped Lara off.

"You save Sam!" ordered Sun. "We'll worry about the Grimm!"

Lara nodded in acknowledgement and raced back up the staircase again; Sam was her number one priority – Sora and Sun could handle themselves.

Back over on the edge of the Ziggurat, Sora rolled out of the way of the Alpha Beowolf's claw, which ripped through one of the temple support beams and dropped another pile of rubble on its head. The massive Grimm shrugged it off and snapped its head to Sora, howling. The spiky-haired islander fired off two more Fire Dust-laced bullets – one struck the Grimm's shoulder and the other in its left kneecap – but the Alpha Beowolf just kept coming. Sora then flipped the switch to convert Crescent Rose to its Scythe Mode, fired a bullet behind him, and used the recoil to increase the strength of his swing when he charged the Grimm. The Alpha Beowolf tried to catch the scythe much like the last time they fought, but the momentum was too much for it to stop and was carried along with the swing, causing it to spin around. And while The Grimm's back was turned on him, Sora pulled off an impressive jump and kicked the Alpha Beowolf in the back of the head with both feet.

The Alpha Beowolf only moved by a few feet, but quickly pivoted toward Sora and snarled angrily. As the hulking Grimm took a step forward, Sun suddenly came down from the air behind the Alpha Beowolf and swung Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang over its head. Unfortunately, the evolved Grimm snapped its claw back and wrapped its fingers around the Faunus' midsection without looking back. The Alpha Beowolf threw the squirming Huntsman at Sora and the both of them were sent tumbling across the floor and slammed into the far side wall. Both men groaned and soothed their throbbing heads, looking over in time to see the Alpha Beowolf lunging at them. Sora and Sun jumped away from the spot as the Grimm's claw smashed through the wall, flinging chunks of stone in every direction. One of the pieces knocked into the back of Sora's leg's causing him to trip over; Crescent Rose slid out of his grip.

As the spiky-haired boy flipped around on his back, the Alpha Beowolf loomed over him and brought its claws down on top of him. Whether intentional or not, the Alpha Beowolf's claws missed Sora and stabbed into stone floor around his body; his arms were pinned to his side and the Grimm's palm pushed down on his chest. The Alpha Beowolf raised its second claw, extended its index finger, and pointed the tip of its nail at Sora's forehead. The Alpha Beowolf looked ready to finish him off, but – as per usual in this line of work – the Grimm stopped in his tracks as Sun suddenly jumped on its neck, twisting his legs around its throat. The evolved beats pulled away from Sora and snarled, shaking its head to throw the Faunus off – Sun threw the chain of his nunchaku around the Grimm's open mouth and pulled back, much like a rider at the reins.

"Yee-haw!" shouted Sun enthusiastically; the Alpha Beowolf flailed like a bucking bronco. "Now I see why Nora does this all the time! This is awesome!"

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" asked Sora.

"No!" answered Sun. "But do you have any better id – whoa!" he yelped as the Grimm nearly unsaddled him.

While the men were busying themselves in their one-man rodeo, Lara reached the top of the alter again and was once again confronted with the crisis of saving Sam. Her best friend was looking noticeably paler and Himiko's corpse was peeling apart bit-by-bit. By Lara's own estimation, they only had a few minutes before the ritual was complete.

The archaeologist took of her bow and pulled a flame-tipped arrow against the drawstring, aiming straight for Himiko's heart, when –

"I won't let you interfere!" Mathias' wails echoed out.

A gunshot cracked through the air again and Lara suddenly found herself at the loss of her bow. Lara turned to her right as Mathias climbed up the side of the alter; his face was stained with his own blood, his nose broke twice over, and one of his eyes looked like it had been punctured. The psychopathic zealot scrambled to his feet and charged at Lara, even after she had pulled out her gun and started shoot him. Mathias' ducked and weaved through the wave of bullets with amazing skill, reaching Lara in a matter of second and slamming his fist against the side of her face. The Archaeologist was turned around, nearly dropping to her knees, but managed to stay standing as she flipped around to confront Mathias.

"This ends now!" screamed Mathias.

Mathias had lost the last trace of his sanity; Lara could see it in his one remaining eye. The cultist leader howled like a wounded animal as he rushed at Lara with his hands outstretched like they were ready to strangle the life out of her. Lara's quick hand reached for the climbing axe strapped to her side and swiped at Mathias, burying the tool in the man's shoulder. But the insane survivor tackled Lara and pulled them both down to the ground, straddling her hips. Lara attempted to reach for her pistol, but Mathias ripped the climbing axe out of his shoulder without hesitation and swung it down for Lara's throat. The archaeologist only had her quick reflexes to thank as her hands shot up and caught the handle before the blade could reach. Now the two were locked in a contest of strength – one that Lara was failing.

"I have come too far to let it all go to waste!" snarled Mathias. "Himiko will rise! You whore girlfriend will die! You will die! Just give up!"

"No!" screamed Lara defiantly.

Back with Sun and Sora, the monkey Faunus was continuing to hang on for dear life as the Alpha Beowolf flailed and turned to knock the Huntsman off it. The great beast even smashed through the support beams twice, bringing down more wreckage on top of their heads, but Sun would not let go of his nunchaku. Finally, the Alpha Beowolf wised up and reached over its shoulder, plucking the Faunus off with its claw. With the Huntsman in its grasp, the Alpha Beowolf slammed Sun on the ground – a small crater formed from the impact – and lifted its foot over him. The tell-tale sign of Sora's gun cracked through the air and the spiky-haired boy was flying across the open-air chamber with his scythe ready to sweep the Grimm off its feet. But the Alpha Beowolf saw it coming.

The titanic Grimm turned as Sora approached and jutted out its lifted leg, slamming its heel into Sora's chest. The scythe-wielder was thrown into a support beam, which cracked when he slammed against it, and slumped to the floor. Shaking his vision free of the pretty stars, Sora yelped and rolled out of the way as the Alpha Beowolf's claw flew overhead and ripped the support beam to splinters. The upper floor once again fell on top of the evolved Grimm and the beast brushed it off, but a long length of rope had fallen on top of the Grimm and coiled haphazardly around its body. The Alpha Beowolf snapped and snarled at the rope, sweeping its claws around, only for the rope to become more entangled in its bone-armor.

Watching the Grimm struggle gave Sora an idea.

"Hey, Sun!" called Sora. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm done thinking," shouted Sun, leaping past his partner. "It's the doing part that's gonna be trouble! Follow my lead, kid!"

The spiky-haired warrior stowed Crescent Rose to its Inactive Mode and hopped after his Faunus partner. The duo landed in front of the Alpha Grimm, which had somehow managed to wrap its body loosely in the web of rope. Once it noticed the two Huntsmen, the Alpha Beowolf stabbed its claws at them, but the pair sidestepped out of the way. Sun then grabbed one end of the rope that was hanging off the Alpha Beowolf's wrist, dashed at the monster, and performed a clean slide between its legs before dashing off to the right. The monkey Faunus pulled at the rope and the Alpha Beowolf's hand moved against its will, suddenly slashing across its ankles and slicing the limb open. The Alpha Beowolf howled as it fell sideways onto its knees.

Sora dashed around and slid on his knees as the Alpha Beowolf swiped across the air with its free arm. As the bone-spiked limb flew over him, Sora grabbed another end of the rope, hopped to his feet, and started running in a full circle around the Grimm. Once again, against his will, the Alpha Beowolf's claw stretched around its torso and over its shoulder before Sora gave the rope a firm tug and buried the beast's nails into its nape. The werewolf Grimm howled with pain and started squirming against its bindings, but Sora and Sun continued to run around the Alpha Beowolf pulling at both ends of the rope. When the pair stopped running, the Alpha Beowolf no longer had the freedom to move its limbs. It was trapped.

Sora unfolded Crescent Rose into its Scythe Mode, spinning the massive scythe expertly between his hands ("Hey, you're getting really good at that," said Sun impressively). The spiky-haired warrior approached the Alpha Beowolf slowly, more so that he wouldn't slip up the rotation of his weapon than in fear of the Grimm. The Alpha Beowolf burned the scythe wielder and opened its jaw to howl at him, but Sora buried the blade of his scythe in its skull before the werewolf could utter a sound. After a moment of semi-silence, Sora ripped his weapon out and the Alpha Beowolf's body eroded into a dark mist.

"Hey, that wasn't so bad," complimented Sun, clapping Sora's shoulder. "Though Beowolves normally travel in packs, which was why it was so much easier. But you did well to hold your own against an alpha. Nice job, kid."

"Thanks," said Sora.

"Sun! Sora!" The pair looked over as Penny dashed toward them. "Are you two all right? My batteries just finished recharging."

"We're just fine, Pen," said Sun, grinning. "We took out that Grimm, no problem."

"What about Lara?" asked Penny.

Sora and Sun hissed internally. In all the excitement, they had completely forgotten about Lara and her fight against Mathias.

Back on the top of the alter; both Lara and Mathias were pushing against the handle of the climbing axe, trying to outdo each other in strength. Though Lara was doing well to hold her own against him, Mathias was clearly the superior in terms of physical ability, having spent years toning himself for survival. The blade of Lara's axe was steadily getting closer to her neck; Lara was tilting her head away trying to evade it. At the same time, the light around Himiko's barrier was growing weaker as the tendrils were getting stronger around Sam.

"You see that, Lara?" screamed Mathias. "Any moment now, the Sun Queen will be revived and you will never see your beloved Samantha again!"

Something seemed to snap in Lara's head the moment those words left Mathias' lips. She bared her teeth with an inhumane growl and pushed against the climbing axe with all her might, surprising the cultist leader as he was pushed off. Lara's hand snatched up the gun in his holster and did not hesitate to pull the trigger on Mathias. Though the insane zealot was quick to divert the weapon, the bullet still landed in his shoulder and Mathias was forced to crawl away from Lara holding his wound. The archaeologist pushed herself up in seconds and pulled out her second pistol as she kicked Mathias onto his back, standing over him like an ominous shadow. The rage inside Lara that had been building up since her arrival on the island was finally brought to the surface. And though many would have cowered in fear at her heated gaze and gnashing teeth, Mathias only laughed.

"You see, Lara, we're not so different after all," said Mathias, chuckling maliciously. "We both do what we have to in order to survive. Because that's what we are: survivors."

The ziggurat echoed with Lara's furious screams mixed with the howling winds and the repeated gunshots. Again and again, Lara shot at the cultist's chest, ripping through cloth and flesh long after Mathias had drawn his final breath. She didn't even care that he was already dead – she just wanted to hurt him, to make him suffer for all the pain her put her through, _all the pain he put Sam through_! There must have been twenty to thirty bullets already buried in Mathias' chest, and Lara would have filled his corpse with more had Sora not suddenly appeared and pulled her by the wrist.

"Lara, it's over!" shouted Sora. "He's dead! He's dead! We need to rescue Sam now!"

And just like that, her body was purged of her rage, as if someone had pulled the plug and washed it down the drain. Her breathing was fast and fierce; she was staring down at Mathias's bullet-riddled corpse as if she was only seeing it for the first time. The scariest part was, in Sora's mind, was that Lara didn't seem the least bit remorseful. If anything, she looked…satisfied. Sora, Sun, and Penny didn't have the nerve to say anything to Lara in her present state – maybe it was because she needed time to comprehend what she had done, or they were afraid she might turn on them. But either way, Lara stepped over Mathias' corpse, wordlessly pushed past the trio, and marched up to Himiko's alter.

As she approached the Sun Queen's rotting body, Lara unloaded the clip of her pistol and searched for any remaining bullets. There was one left; she clicked it back into the firearm with some sense of satisfaction. She purposely climbed up to the alter and stood between Himiko and Sam, allowing the tidal wave of energy to wash over her. If the energy wave was hurting her in any way, Lara didn't let it show. She raised her pistol, jammed it between the Sun Queen's eyes, and pulled back the hammer.

"Burn in hell, Himiko," said Lara in a low voice.

 ** _BANG!_**

Himiko's dying screams raged louder than the mighty winds that surrounded them as the Fire Dust traveled from the hole in her head to the rest of her body. The blue energy that connected the Sun Queen with Sam dissipated and the young woman dropped to the floor; Lara was by her side faster than any of them could blink. The fire raged strongly as the once inactive body started swinging around in circles in a hopeless attempt to douse the fires. And then…Himiko collapsed over the side of her alter and fell motionless into a pile of charred flesh.

"…You know, I was kinda expecting a big explosion or something," said Sora, scratching his head with a brow raised. "That just seemed a little…anticlimactic."

"Are we seriously talking about this?" said Penny, staring at him aghast. "We need to get off this island soon. It's starting to mess up your brain."

"I don't think that'll be a problem anymore," said Sun, leaning backward and staring into the sky. "Look at that."

Sora and Penny looked up to follow his line of sight as the raging winds began to subside without any reasonable explanation; the stormy-gray clouds above began to part and the first rays of sunlight began to shine through. Sora let out a sigh of relief when he felt the warmth of the sun's ray brush against his skin. It had been sunny days nearly all the time back on the Destiny Islands, and after weathering through Himiko's storms, he never realized how much he had taken it for granted. Sora thought of Riku and Kairi, and how much he wished he could be back on the beach with them, laughing and smiling without a care in the word.

"Sam!" Sora and his crew turned around. Lara was gently lifting Sam into her lap; the dark-haired woman was having a coughing fit as if she had recently come up for air. "Oh Sam, thank god! I was so worried! Oh, thank god you're all right!"

"Ugg…Lara," slurred Sam tiredly. "Lara…what's happening?"

"Shh…," hushed Lara gently, caressing the woman's cheek. "It's all right…I'm here now….your safe…it's okay…it's okay…."

"You saved me," said Sam with an exhausted, but tender smile. "I knew you would…."

"I will always come to save you, Sam," said Lara affectionately. "Sam, I…I will always be there whether you want me to or not. I will stand by your side through the good times and the bad – especially the bad – I will support you, and care for you when you need me most. I'm sure we'll end up fighting a lot – most people often do – but at the end of the day, I want you to know that – "

"If you're going to propose me, could you skip the long speech; I have a killer headache," said Sam, chuckling tiredly.

"Ugh – I – Sam, I – " Lara stuttered; her face was tinged red and her voice was hitched.

"Lara, I've known for the longest time how you feel," said Sam softly. "And…ell, I never said anything before because, if I'm honest, I was a little scared myself. But after the hell we've been through…all the monsters, the murderers, and an insane Sun Goddess…I'm not scared anymore…. I want this, Lara…and I know you want it too…. So let's do it."

"Oh, Sam," said Lara in a soft whisper.

Sam raised herself higher and Lara leaned in closer; their eyes fluttered closed as they inched towards each other…. And Sora completely missed the rest because Penny and Sun covered his eyes with their hands.

"HEY!" yelled Sora indignantly.

"You're a little too young for this, kid," said Sun.

"I'm fourteen!" retorted Sora.

"That's too young in our book," said Penny, and together with Sun, they forced him to turn around and dragged Sora away. "Come on, I think these two need to be alone for a while. Now that Himiko's dead, I'm sure the Storm Guard is starting to die out and the cultists will be running for the beaches. They'll be fine on their own."

"You guys are the worst," Sora grumbled, crossing his arms like a pouting child. "Well, at least things worked out for the best. Sam's safe, Mathias and the Beowolf are out of the picture, and once we find our ship, we can start heading to the next world."

"That reminds me," said Sun. "We never did find Ruby. Think we should stick around and look for her?"

"Uh…yeah, about that," said Sora anxiously; Penny and Sun turned to him curiously. "Well, when we got separated…I kinda saw Ruby."

"You did?" asked Penny eagerly. "Where is she?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly Ruby," said Sora, tapping his finger together. "You see…I chased her down in the monastery tunnels and that the woman in the red hood turned out to be one of the Mathias' followers wearing a red cape. Apparently, Mathias made up the story about the Red Witch to trick us into leave Sam alone so that he could perform the ritual while we were on a wild goose chase."

"Then…Ruby was never on the island?" asked Penny sadly.

"But that can't be right," argued Sun. "What about the Fire Dust we found? That's proof that Ruby's been here, right?"

"It could be," said Penny, brushing her chin thoughtfully. "Or maybe…it just means that the magazine was swept up in the storm from when Remnant was destroyed. It could have just been blown off to Yamatai the same way Sora was blown from his islands to Traverse Town…. I don't think Ruby ever showed up on Yamatai over the last ten years."

"Then that means…our search was a bust," said Sun depressingly.

"Guess this means we'll have to keep search," said Penny gloomily.

It pained him – it physically pained Sora – to see his two closest friends look so sad; his stomach was awkwardly with the guilt. But it was better than the alternative, Sora thought to himself. If they knew that it was Ruby who told Mathias to take Sam and offer her up to Himiko, they would be devastated. Was he partially being selfish? Maybe, but he wanted to spare his friends feeling for little bit longer.

* * *

But as the trio of world travelers was celebrating their victory over Mathias and Himiko, they remained unaware that they were being observed within the chambers of Zeref's shadowed fortress. The Black Wizard leaned over the granite table, watching the illuminated figures of Sora and his friends as they walked motionlessly in the center. Standing around him were the three other shadowy figures that had joined his cabal – Torchwick was busying himself in Fiore and Zeref didn't quite care for the last one.

"That Beowolf was acting out of sorts," said the first shadow. "I've been studying the Grimm for years and I never known them to travel outside of packs. What drew that particular Grimm to the world that made it act so…obedient?"

"The priestess lured it there," said Zeref simply. "It was her centuries of hatred that fed the beast. It latched on to her much like a pup nursing from its mother."

"Looks like the mutt sucked more than he was doing the sucking," said the second shadow with a high-pitched cackle.

That is when the first shadow stepped out of the darkness and into the light projected from the image on the table, illuminating his features to his master. He was a tall and shabby looking man with unruly purple that touched his shoulders, but his were sharp with a wisdom that showed beyond his years. He dressed very handsomely in a blue business suit with a bolo tie necklace and threw on a white lab coat over top, specifically to imply that he was a scientist of sorts.

"Such an anomaly is worth investigating if we ever want to know how to control those monsters," said the scientist. "But first, there is another matter we must deal with. More specially, the boy and his friends. I'm sure you've noticed my lord, but they are becoming a problem. They are getting stronger with each world they visit. If this continues – "

"I understand your fear, Doctor Scaglietti," said Zeref, "but they are not the immediate concern. While their interference has made our efforts…difficult, they still remain blissfully unaware of our true goal."

"Yes, the Maidens," muttered Doctor Scaglietti. "Though they are unaware of it, those three have somewhat hindered us when they destroyed Himiko. Had she been successful in the transfer, she would have made an excellent candidate for the process."

"Fear not, for there are still many vessels to choose from," said Zeref, turning slowly to his left. "Speaking of which…."

"H-hey, let me go you creep!" a young, female voice shouted.

All of a sudden, a young girl was thrown out of the darkness and slid against the ground into the light near Zeref. The groaned as she pushed herself to her hands and feet, staring up at the Black Wizard with a mixture of fear and defiance. The girl was young, possibly around the same age as Sora, with short black hair tied up into short, choppy pig tails and brilliant blue eyes. She wore a yellow, blue buttoned school jacket with a white dress shirt underneath, a blue ribbon tie, and a dark-blue skirt.

Zeref smiled softly as he approached the girl and kneeled down; the girl didn't back away, only glared at him with stronger intensity.

"Welcome to Spriggan Castle, Miss Kuroi," said Zeref softly. "I do hope that you will enjoy your stay here."

* * *

 **And that brings about the thrilling conclusion of the Yamatai Trilogy, which I am actually proud of for a change (that's a miracle in and of itself). I felt like this might have been my best chapter yet because I could stop writing once I got the battle scene going. You may have noticed that the fight between Lara and Mathias was similar to the original, because that's how I wanted it to be. I wanted Lara to snap the way she did and go on a vengeful rage – a natural reaction I such the situation, I believe – and Sora would act as the counterbalance, keeping his head straight and feeling somewhat concerned by Lara's attitude. This was to emphasize that Sora is the uncompromisable good in the story.**

 **The next chapter is the return to Traverse Town, where we'll meet two familiar characters (one who will join the main cast later, and the other to give the heroes a good kick in the butt). And it will also be the first appearance of this story's version of 100 Arce Woods, which I am really excited about. So until next time, please read and review.**

* * *

EXTRA

I may have left out many things from the original version when I created this story, but there is one that isn't changing – new weapon forms! That's right; Crescent Rose will have new forms and abilities! I already planned how that's going to work and Sora's going to get his first one in the next chapter, but I'm still missing one thing: the name. If you could help out that would be really appreciated. Here's how the format should look:

(Yamatai-related word) (Flower name)

The idea is similar to Marluxia's scythes in 358/2. And as thanks for the help, I will be offering a prize to the person who comes up with the best name. So please, feel free to try out – you have nothing to lose.


	15. A Slice of Life, Part 1

**Chapter Fourteen: A Slice of Life, Part 1**

The gentle lapping of the ocean waves filled Sora with nostalgia; it reminded him of the many times he, Riku, and Kairi would just lie on the beach, listening to the sounds of the sea – he really missed those days.

After their harrowing experience on the island, Lara and Sam could not wait to get off of Yamatai, and with Himiko and Mathias were dead, the possibility was finally available. Sora, Sun, and Penny escorted the couple down the mountain towards the beach where Lara had hidden a life raft in the sand in case they ever found a way off. They didn't run into any cultists along the way; it was likely that they had all made their own dash for freedom once word of Himiko's death had spread. After securing the last of their provisions, Lara brushed off her hands with a satisfied sigh as Sam joined her side, embracing her affectionately from behind, and turned to Sora's group.

"Well, I guess we'll be going then," said Lara. "It's a long trip to Japan from here."

"You sure you don't want a ride with us?" asked Sam in concern. "There's plenty of space available."

"No thanks, we have our own ship," said Penny.

"You lot really saved our arses today," said Lara appreciatively. "Things could have gone a whole lot worse had you not washed ashore when you did. I don't know how I – how we – can ever thank you."

"Make me best man at the wedding and we're square," said Sora jokingly.

"We'll think about it," said Sam teasingly.

"Actually, there is something I did want to give you earlier," said Lara, digging her hand through her pocket. "I came across this a while ago when we got separated in the monastery. I thought it was something the Solarii might have dropped since it didn't resemble anything the Storm Guard might have, but this looks way too advanced for a bunch of savage cultists would use. I figured you might have a use for it."

The survivor pulled out the item in question and handed it off to Sora; Sun and Penny stared curiously over his shoulder. It looked like one of Sun and Penny's telephone devices ("They're called Scrolls, Sora," said Penny), but they were much more compact and painted in a faded, blood-red color. A reddish-orange flower was stamped on the front of the cover and written underneath in neat cursive was a title: **_Enduring Zinnia_**

"Don't know if it'll be much use to you lot," said Lara earnestly. "Don't know what the bloody thing does."

"I do!" said Sora eagerly.

"You do?" asked Sun and Penny in unison.

"It's an upgrade for Crescent Rose," explained Sora. "Taiyang explained it to me when we last saw him in Crocus. Remember? When he was whispering in my ear? He said that before they disappeared, Ruby upgraded everyone's weapons with some experimental nanite things they got from Atlas. She stored them inside old telephone things – scrolls, I mean – and when you changed them out, the little robots would alter the shape of their weapons automatically.

"So what does this scroll turn into?" asked Sun, sounding very interested in the concept.

"Give me a sec," said Sora. He unhooked Crescent Rose from the back of his belt, switching it into Scythe Mode. "Where is – ah, I wish Taiyang told me where you're supposed to put it…. No, it's not – not there either – I - Aha! There it is!"

Sora located the small slot on the underside of Crescent Rose's main body, behind the bullet magazine and underneath the scope. The spiky-haired warrior pulled out the scroll (painted bright red with a black rose emblem stamped on the face), pocketed the origin for future use, and then slipped the Zinnia Scroll inside. The islander nearly dropped his weapon and everyone else too a step back in surprise. The moment the scroll was inserted, Crescent Rose transformed into a shapeless substance that resembled metallic sand; it felt weird having them crawl through Sora's fingers. The metal sand rolled over itself many times and bulged out in many place before the substance finally settled on a shape and color followed shortly after.

The new scythe form had a significantly shorter reach that Crescent Rose and had only half the weight of the original, which made it possible to swing the weapon around using only one hand. The main body was covered in a chipped, rustic-red paint, the steely-gray shaft was wrapped multiple layers of dirty white cloth (which actually made it easier to grip), and etched into the side of the main body was a script: " _Fly 'em high – Do or Die_ " The blade of the new scythe was covered in serrated teeth and the hook bended at a curve instead of their original, fang-like appendages.

If Sora was going to make a comparison, he'd have to say the new scythe bared an eerier resemblance to Lara's climbing axe.

"This is so cool!" Sora gushed, giving the new blade a one-handed test swing. "It's so light, and those teeth are really gonna cut into the Grimm."

"The nanite may have come from Atlas," said Penny, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped, "but I've never seen them used in such a manner before. It's as if the entire physical structure of Crescent Rose is made from a concentrated form of intermingling nanite bodies. Ruby was truly an engineering prodigy way ahead of her time."

"I just think it looks cool," said Sun.

"I'm not even going to ask what just happened," said Lara, shaking her head and waving her hands in surrender. "After all the shite this island has thrown at us, I just want to go back to out flat, take eleven showers – with soap and shampoo – put on a spot of tea, and lounge around in front of the telly for a week."

"Isn't she romantic?" said Sam sarcastically; Lara slapped her on the shoulder playfully.

"Well, I think we should be leaving soon," said Sora, looking out to the ocean as the sun started to rise. "You two have a long boat ride head of you, and the three of us need to get back to Traverse Town before Jaune and the others start wondering where we are. Or worse…General Schnee."

The trio shuddered.

"It's been an honor and a privilege to work with you," said Lara, smiling softly. She offered out her hand, to which Sora smiled and accepted, shaking it. "If you lot ever find yourselves in London, feel free to look us up. I've actually been doing some research on the lost city of Kitezh before we went on this hellish journey; maybe you'd like to join me on another expedition sometime."

"Don't hold your breath," said Sora quickly.

* * *

 **TRAVERSE TOWN**

* * *

Their flight back to Traverse Town was, thankfully, a smooth one; no freak storms, no enemy attacks mid-route, and no giant whales trying to swallow them whole – Penny insisted that last one wasn't a real thing. Departing from their ship at the docks and stepping through the gates, Sora noticed that the First District was much livelier than it had been last time they visited. Shops were starting to open up again as dozens of residents walked back and forth through the town square in loud, boisterous voices, and the smell of food lingered from the open café – Sora's stomach made a loud rumbling noise. Sora held his stomach in with a groan; they had been so busy on Yamatai that they never had a chance to eat.

The spiky-haired scythe wielder looked back at Sun and Penny pleadingly, but their attention was more focused on the Scroll through which they were delivering their report to General Schnee.

\- burned Himiko and the storms ended," said Penny formally. "Lara and Sam were able to successfully escape the island, but there are bound to be some very dangerous people still on the island. General, I think it would be prudent for a military detachment to be deployed to Yamatai and detain the cultists before they escape. If they are allowed to run free on the world, it could be disastrous."

"Yes, that would be well advised," said General Schnee, nodding in agreement. "I'll put in a requisition form with the Time-Space Administration Bureau for a search and capture mission. Although, at the rate the run their operations, it may be quicker just to ask Commander Yagami directly. She's never been one to waste time pushing papers, as I recall."

"What's the Time-Space Administration Bureau?" asked Sora.

"Nothing you should concern yourself with," said General Schnee sternly. "You've already deviated from your mission long enough with this Himiko incident. Lie Ren is waiting with the new navigational parts for your ship. Lie Ren will personally install the new attachments since he and I agree that you three would only cause more damage" – Sora, Sun, and Penny grimaced at her lack of faith – "Report to the "From Dust Till Dawn" shop and deploy to the assigned coordinates immediately. Do not deviate. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" shouted the trio in unison with a proper salute.

And with that, the frigid general signed off; Sora, Sun, and Penny sighed in relief.

"She just keeps getting scarier every time I see her," said Sun. "That's why you never see me working in Atlas."

"I thought it was because you were lazy," said Penny.

"That too," said Sun, nodding.

"Well, we should probably go tell Ren we're back," said Penny.

"Uh…do you guys mind if I stop by the café for a little while?" asked Sora sheepishly. "I haven't eaten since we crash landed on Yamatai, and I was…kinda hoping…maybe…."

"Go on ahead, Sora," said Sun with Penny nodding in agreement. "After what we've been through, you deserve a little time off. Penny and I'll handle all the important mission type stuff."

"I recommend Mankanshoku-style mystery croquettes," Penny offered. "They're really good as long as you don't think about what's in them."

"Thanks for the advice!" shouted Sora, already making a dash for the café. "Call me if some Grimm needs slaying!"

Sora didn't look back at his friends as they shook their heads in amusement; he had already planted his butt in the nearest chair and buried his nose in the menu. Upon Penny's recommendation, Sora ordered the Mankanshoku-style mystery croquettes along with the Kotobuki choco-cake, some Shredder fires, and a Squid Girl Brand Sea Salt Soda ("now with 20% more ink!"). Before he could help himself, he realized how uncomfortable it was with the back of the chair hitting against Enduring Zinnia and pressing it into his spine, so Sora took the weapon off and rested it against his seat. He was about to take his first bite of the secretly, mysterious piece of fried food when –

 ** _Flash!_**

Sora's blinked his eyes very fast, fighting off the color spots invading his vision. The spiky-haired island boy shook his head and turned to the left and saw something pointing brown and gold flash camera at him. Sora was about to stand up and tell the person off when the owner of the camera lowered the device. The person behind the camera turned out to be a woman somewhere around Sun's age with long brown hair that reached to the base of her spine and chocolate brown eyes behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses. The most distinct feature was the pair of long, brown-furred rabbit ears sticking from the top of her head – she was a Faunus, like Sun.

She wore a brown, short-sleeved jacket with strange emblem stamped over her left breast (a heart with several rows of stitches), a cocoa-brown scarf wrapped around her neck and thrown over her shoulder, and translucent black undershirt that covered her arms and hands, but left her fingers exposed. Below the waist, she wore a pair of brown shorts held up by three sets of interweaving leather belts of different color (cocoa, orange, and peach), and translucent black leggings that went from her shorts to her white-and-brown sneakers.

Chuckling nervously, the rabbit woman closed her camera and smiled shyly; Sora felt a sudden flash of heat rise in his face.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" said the rabbit woman apologetically. "You just looked so natural sitting there in the candle light, the photographer in me just couldn't resist passing up the opportunity. I know I should have asked for your permission first."

"Oh, it was no problem; I'm totally cool with it," said Sora, scratching his head nervously. She's really pretty, he thought secretly. "So, how does it look?"

"Oh, it turned out great!" said the rabbit Faunus cheerfully. "Wanna see?"

The rabbit woman edged closer to Sora – she smells like sweet chocolate, Sora thought embarrassingly – and flipped her camera around to show him the backscreen. And then she brought up the digital picture…of Enduring Zinnia. Sora could see his legs in the edging of the shot, but the light-weight scythe seemed to take up the entire space. When the rabbit woman pulled away and looked to him with a hopeful grin of excitement, Sora smiled politely and chuckle nervously.

"That…nice," said Sora hesitantly; the rabbit woman gave a small cheer. "So…you like photography?"

"It's more of a hobby than anything else," said the rabbit Faunus. "A long time ago, I used to take pictures out of necessity to fight off the monsters – yeah, I can understand why you look confused; not everyone gets it," she added at Sora's raised brow. "But after what happened to my world, I haven't found the need to use it for fighting. Ten years, I've been taking picture after picture, mostly of the people that pass through town."

"You're from Remnant?" asked Sora.

"I was, once," said the rabbit Faunus. "I had a home, went to school, and made amazing friends…. Sometimes when I take pictures, it kind of reminds me of the old days, before everything went bad…before I lost my friends."

"Well, hey, they might still be out there," said Sora encouragingly. "I lost my friends, too, but I know in my soul that they're all right."

"I wish I had that kind of confidence when I was your age," said the rabbit woman, smiling sadly. "Maybe then I could have saved them…. Ah, listen to me talk about such a depressing subject. We haven't even introduced ourselves."

"Oh, I'm Sora," the spiky-haired boy introduced himself. "I'm from the Destiny Islands, though I just came back from a trip to other world."

"It's nice to meet you, Sora," said the rabbit woman. "My name is – "

"Sora!" the boy and the rabbit woman looked over; Sun and Penny were flagging him down from the stairs. "Sora, c'mon, we gotta go!

"Coming!" yelled Sora before turning to the rabbit woman. "Sorry, but I have to – "

"I totally understand," said the rabbit Faunus kindly. "I hope we meet again, Sora."

Sora gave the rabbit woman a polite wave and ran off…then he can back, grabbed his plate of croquette, and ran off again.

"Who was that you were talking to?" asked Sun when Sora approached them.

"Dunno, never got her name," said Sora. "So what happening? Did Ren get the new parts set up?"

"He's working on them now," said Penny. "But he asked us to do a little favor for him in return."

The Atlesian Android reached behind her back and pulled a book from nothing (the hidden compartment maybe?) She handed the book off to Sora, who flipped the novel around with a confused frown. It looked like the book had gone through several attempts at repair as there were numerous stitches in the vinyl cover and an unimaginable number of threads keeping the binding together. The cover itself was completely blank – not even a title – and the latch keeping the book closed looked brand new, meaning it had been replaced.

"Ren's been restoring it for someone for close to a month and he just finished," said Sun. "He said the thing was falling apart when she brought it in; too beat up to restore it to the way it was before. But overall, he did a pretty decent job putting it back together. Anyway, he asked us if drop it off to the owner."

"Sure, I guess we can do that since Ren's working on the ship for us," said Sora.

"Ren said the owner lived in the old house past the Third District," said Penny. "He said we need to look behind the big fire sign."

"Sounds easy enough," said Sora, stuffing the book inside his jacket. "Maybe afterwards, we can go talk to Jaune. I wanna talk to him about something."

"What is it?" asked Penny curiously.

"It's uh…personal," mumbled Sora.

Before either of them could ask, Sora walked away at a very fast pace. Penny and Sun turned to one another, tilting their heads in confusion, but then just shrugged their shoulders and chased after their shorter partner. If there was any problem, surely he would have talked to them, right?

As the three disappeared beyond the Third District gate, the rabbit Faunus woman managed to catch a shot of them from behind with her camera.

* * *

Finding the 'big fire sign' was easy enough. They followed the path across the district square – which was still in complete disarray since their battle against the Giant Armor – and turned down a narrow alley behind the fountain. As it turned out, the 'big fire sign' was actually a large wooden door where the threshold was written in an ancient, archaic language that even Penny couldn't read, and a fire emblem stamped in the center.

Sun walked right up to the door, expecting it to open, but ended up smacking his face into the wood (Sora and Penny snickered behind their hands). Irritated, the monkey Faunus pushed against the door, but it wouldn't budge. He then threw his shoulder into the entrance, but nothing changed again. Sun breathed hard through his nose and walked away. Sora had thought the Faunus had given up, but that was before Sun ran by and jumped at the door, kicking it with both feet. Once again, the door wouldn't move, and Sun hovered against the door in a comical fashion ("Did his eye twitch?") and fell down.

"You know, it would've been nice if Ren had mentioned how we get inside," grumbled Sun.

"Maybe there's some secret to it," said Penny, inspecting the symbols in the threshold. "Hmm…it's definitely not a language that Atlas is familiar with, and they know a lot of languages. This must have been before the Kingdoms were established, possibly before the Great War occurred. Perhaps if we did a thorough examination of these runes – Sora, what're you doing?" she asked hastily to the boy.

The android and the Faunus caught the spiky-haired boy as he finished loading Enduring Zinnia in Gun Mode and trained his aim on the door. Sun and Penny managed to press themselves against the walls just as he pulled the trigger. The bullet cracked against the entryway and bloomed into a flower of flames. Well, that was one way to make an entrance, thought Sun. But instead of eating at the wood, the blaze was somehow absorbed into the fire emblem and the symbol glowed in a warm-red color. Much to their surprise, the door lifted up into the wall, opening up to a new path.

"How'd you know that'd work?" asked Sun, dumbfounded.

"If my time at Yamatai told me anything, it's that you should take symbols at face value," said Sora with a triumphant grin. "It had a giant fire sign on its and the runes around it had to mean it was magic, so I figured we needed to set it on fire to open the lock, and I was right."

"That is the most insane logic I ever heard," said Sun bluntly.

"Well, it opened the path for us, anyway," said Penny.

Sora, Sun, and Penny stepped through the open doorway and stopped after only a few steps, taken aback by the sudden change of scenery. From the open-aired plaza of the Third District, the trio ended up walking into a cavernous area with hundreds of dripping stalactites hanging over their heads into the seemingly bottomless pool below. The flagstone street had converted into a series of large boulders acting as stepping stones leading to the miniature island in the middle of the cavern. Resting atop the island was a two-story household that looked like it had once been very grandiose and beautiful, but had fallen into a state of ruin from extensive lack of care.

"They live in this dump?" said Sun aghast.

"We're not exactly one to judge," said Penny. "My home is on a laboratory table and Ciel is the only reason you aren't sleeping on the streets."

"…point," mumbled Sun.

Crossing the stepping stones was a little harder than expected. The rocky platforms were super slick from the moisture in the cavern, causing Sora to slip when he jumped to the first one and nearly fell into the water. Sun was a little less than gracefully, having misjudged the length of his jump, slipped off the first stone, and face planted onto the second stone. But with some trial and error, the two managed to make it across dry – then Penny crossed the entire length using her threads as a zip line; Sora and Sun glared. Getting inside the was also a hassle since the front door was boarded up, but Sora walked around the building and managed to find a hole in the wall covered by a sheet. Was it technically breaking and entering? Yes, but they had a good reason, or so Sora believed.

Slipping through the sheet, Sora and his friends couldn't say they were the least bit surprised at the state of the inside was when comparing it to the outside. It looked like the building had been hit by a tornado, or at least someone had ransacked the place and didn't bother to clean up. Pieces of broken furniture were thrown every which way, books were thrown haphazardly into a pile – their pages had been ripped out – and various miscellaneous items were left shattered on the stone floor. It was hard to find at least one thing in the house that wasn't destroyed.

Wordlessly, the trio started walking around the room, seeing if they could find something of use. As Sora started examining the hardwood table that had been cracked in half with one leg missing, he heard something: a voice of someone he hadn't heard in a long time.

"It kinda reminds you of home, doesn't it?"

Sora gasped softly and spun around, staring as Kairi so casually walked into the room, hands folded behind her back, and a soft smile gracing her lips.

"Those times we would spend fixing the clubhouse after a storm, or when Tidus broke another wall, it kind of reminds me of those times, doesn't it. Those days we shared together…running along the beach, star up at the stars at night, scribbling on the walls in the secret place. You remember, right, Sora?"

For the longest time, Sora forgot how to speak, just in shock to see Kairi in front of him…. But was she really in front of him? It had been weeks since they had last seen each other, and to have her conveniently show up in the middle of this torn down house hold in the middle of a secret cave seemed unrealistic. And hadn't he already hallucinated her once before, when he first met Jaune and Nora? Maybe it was just his brain telling him how much he missed her….

"Sora?" called Penny.

Sora looked over, noticing that Sun and Penny were staring at him strangely. He disregarded them for a moment then looked back at Kairi, but his best female friend was already gone…. So it was just another hallucination, Sora chastised himself. He was stupid to get his hopes up.

"Well, this is a bust," said Sun, uncaringly throwing one of the ripped books over his shoulder. "Whoever lived here doesn't anymore. They must've hightailed it out of here when the Grimm started showing up in town."

"Then I guess that means we can't deliver the book," said Sora, retrieving the tome from underneath his coat. "Hmm…that's too bad, actually. I was kinda wondering what kind of book it was that they'd want Ren to repair it so badly. You did say that the thing was falling apart when they dropped it off, so why didn't they just buy a new book instead of having him spend all that time fixing it…. Now I'm curious. Maybe…it wouldn't hurt to take a little peek…."'

"Are you sure you should be doing that, Sora," asked Penny cautiously. "Based on what we've seen so far, whoever owned the book understood magic in great detail. I know everything so far must have looked like magic to you, especially after what happened on Yamatai, but magic isn't a common gift. Even on Remnant, there were only a handful of people that knew magic was real and even less people knew how it worked. We shouldn't tamper with forces beyond our understanding."

"It's just a book, Penny," said Sora, waving her off. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Sora learned to regret his words immediately as he undid the latch and flipped the pages open. everyone in the room was suddenly blinded by an explosion of light; Sun and Penny ducked behind their arms to ward off the flash. The brilliant light quickly died down just as fast as it started, but when Sun and Penny looked around, Sora was nowhere to be seen. All that was left behind was the mysterious book as it snapped shut.

* * *

Sora blinked in an almost comedic sense. One moment he was plowing through a disaster of a house (could it even be called a house at that point?) and the next thing he knew, he had wound up…here. Wherever here was.

The spiky-haired boy from the islands stood up, brushing the grass off his pants from when he landed in this strange place, and turned around cluelessly. It looked like he had landed somewhere deep in the middle of a dense forest due to the thick line of trees surrounding the area, but there was a building in the clearing which meant that some people must have stayed there. The building was rather small and reminded Sora of the ruins from Yamatai (Japanese, maybe?). There was a large pond in front of the small building underneath a single tree that stood separate from the rest of the forest; it looked like there were some fish in the pond as well. And from a distance, Sora could barely make out the sign hanging over the door: **_The Amusement Club_**.

"Where the heck am I?" said Sora, scratching his head. "Sun! Penny! Where are you?"

All of a sudden, a chorus of children's voices filled the air:

 **"** ** _AKARI-IN!_** "

"Who said that?" yelped Sora in fright.

"Hey!" a new voice entered the clearing.

Sora turned around on his heels right at the moment a young girl around his age literally popper out of nowhere. She was a little shorter than him with bright-red hair that touched her chin and was tied up in two tight buns on either side of her head. She was wearing a long-sleeved crimson dress and a white coat with black outlining overtop. Remembering that his own school back on the islands required students to wear uniforms, it was easy for him to assume that she was a student. Then did that mean they were on school grounds, Sora wondered for a moment.

"Yuru Yuri is about to – " said the girl, speaking to no one. Then she noticed standing a ways off and faced him, suddenly scream. "AHH! STRANGER!"

"No, wait, I – " Sora tried to explain.

"ODANGO BAZOOKA!" shouted the girl.

Stunned was the boy from the islands when the strange girl detached her hair buns from her head and threw them like a pair of grenades. Sora couldn't even begin to explain how that was possible, nor could he explain why they suddenly exploded when they hit the ground at his feet. As they scythe wielder was blasted skywards, the hair bun inexplicably returned to the girl and snapped themselves back to her head.

"Phew, that was close," said the girl in relief, turning back to the reader. "Again, Yuru Yuri is about to – "

Sora came down from wherever he was sent flying and slammed onto the top of the girl's head with his own. The two fell over face down, sprawled out on the grass with their limbs twitching like insects; a matching pair of red-hot swellings poked through their hairline. The camera then zooms out and raises high above the canopy, giving a sweeping view of the surrounding forest and focuses on the expansive school building off in the distance.

* * *

 **SCHOOL GROUNDS**

* * *

After picking themselves up and Sora was given the opportunity to explain himself, the hair bun girl invited Sora into the house and offered to relieve both of their swellings. The interior of the building was nice, if a bit messy.

The main focus of the room seemed to be the wide table upon which were a teapot and four homemade ceramic cups along with a plate of snacks; it all looked very organized. Too bad the same couldn't be said for the rest of the room. An assortment of random items were littered around the place from a pair of matching wooden swords, to the assortment of cosplay costumes, to what looked to be a broken time machine, to the stack of manga about a magical girl named "Miraukrun". There was also a box in the corner of the room that was giving off an evil aura and was bound by a multitude of chains; the label on top said: " **Chinatsu-chan's artwork – DO NOT OPEN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!** " Sora was not tempted to try his luck again.

"Here you go," said the girl, coming back to the room with an ice pack. "I'm really, really sorry about that."

"Hey, it's no problem," said Sora, accepting the ice pack graciously. He rested it on is head wound and instantly let out a sigh of relief. "It was my fault for scaring you like that."

"Well, it's not often we gets boys around here," said the girl, who then tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I don't think there's ever been a boy around here. It's weird, actually. Come to think of it, I don't think there are many adults around either. It's like this whole world is made up for only teenage girls like in a seinen manga. But that's crazy, right?" she added, giggling.

"I've seen stranger," said Sora. "I'm Sora, by the way. Who're you?"

"I'm Akaza Akari," said Akari cheerfully. "I'm a member of the Amusement Club, or I used to be before everyone went away."

"What do you mean everyone went away?" asked Sora curiously.

"Well, it was a pretty normal day when it happened," explained Akari. "Everyone was walking to school – except for the Bike Club; they rode to school – and we were all talking about what we would do in the upcoming school festival. But then everything went dark. I couldn't see or hear anything; all I knew was that I existed somewhere. It was really scary. When I could see again, everyone went missing and I was left all alone. I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find any of my friends. I'm scared something might have happened to them."

"Well, they couldn't have just disappeared, right?" said Sora, trying to push a little bit of hope. "Maybe they just got lost."

"Yeah, maybe," said Akari optimistically. "I remember Hagyu-san from Class 1-7 hs a terrible sense of direction. Maybe they got lost on the way to school."

"Yeah, that could be it," said Sora. "So maybe we can go look for them. Who all is missing?"

"Well, there're my friends in the Amusement Club," said Akari, ticking off her fingers. "Then there are some girls from the Mmotorcycle Club, five girls from the Light Music Club, some girls from the Happiness Class, and some girls from the Shinobu Omiya/Blonde Hair Appreciation Club."

"The what?" Sora sputtered confused.

"Yeah, that last one is pretty weird," Akari giggled.

"Guess we got our work cut out for us," said Sora, standing up with Akari. "All right, let's go look for your friends!"

"Yeah!" Akari cheered.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait," said a new, mature voice.

And before the spiky-haired boy realized what happened, he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder and pull him backward. A familiar flash of blinding light filled Sora's vision, then Akari and the Amusement Club house vanished around him.

* * *

"Sora!" Sun and Penny shouted together as their missing friend flopped on the floor.

The scythe wielder grimaced as he landed hard on his back against the stone floor of, what he realized in an instant, the wreckage of the cavernous house. Sun and Penny were immediately at his side and pulled him up by his arms as Sora shook off the dizziness from the sudden transition. When he looked up again, he realized that the three of them weren't alone in the house anymore and Sora felt the sudden urge to sit quietly behind a desk like a good little boy.

The newest arrival on the scene was a stern-looking middle-aged woman with slightly graying blonde hair tied back in a bun and a curl hanging down the right side of her face, wearing a pair of oval glasses that reminded Sora of his school teachers. She wore a white long-sleeved suit that gradually changed into a black business skirt with buttons running in a vertical line up the front of it, light black-brown stockings with matching black boots, and a tattered purple cape with a tiara emblem printed on the back in black. And in her hands, slapping against her open palm, was a long black riding crop – Sora did not want to think what it was used for.

"Well, well," said the stern woman, "it looks like you three arrived a bit earlier than I was expecting. I see you could wait to take a peek inside that book I found."

"Wha – you knew we were coming?" sputtered Sora surprisingly.

"Of course," said the woman crisply.

"Are you…a Grimm – OW!" Sora yelped; the woman thumped him over the head with her crop.

"Do I look like a Grimm, you foolish little boy?" said the woman harshly, leering in a way that made Sora want to crawl under a rock.

"Sora, this is Glynda Goodwitch," said Penny with a surprisingly wide smile. "She was a teacher at Beacon Academy. She was the one that trained Team RWBY and Team JNPR."

"Tried to, at the very least, but they weren't the most attentive students," said Goodwitch with an annoyed sigh.

"Goodwitch is one of the few most knowledgeable huntsmen from Remnant," said Sun. "She was among Ozpin's inner circle along with Qrow Branwen and former General Ironwood. Where've you been all this time? We looked all over for you after the Cataclysm," he asked Goodwitch.

"After Ozpin…fell, and Remnant was swallowed by the darkness," said Goodwitch in an even tone. "I spent most of my time traveling between world, looking for any lost souls and bringing them to Traverse Town, which exists on the nexus between light and darkness. It was actually I that recovered you after you world vanished, Sora."

"So you were the woman in the black coat back on the islands?" asked Sora.

"No, I wasn't made aware of your existence until after your world was destroyed," said Goodwitch, shaking her head. "But I did receive a letter from such a person. It seemed to me that they sent a similar letter to Atlas. I was told to expect a boy to arrive safely in Traverse Town and make sure he was safely guarded until two agents from Atlas had found him. I suppose the letter was referring to you, Mr. Wukong, Miss Polendina."

"So we were all brought together by the same person," said Sun thoughtfully. "But who was it?"

"It must have been someone who knew each of us very well," suggested Penny.

"That would explain why I received another letter during my travels telling me to return here," said Goodwitch, touching her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. "But before I get into that…."

The former teacher turned her back to the group, held out her riding crop, and swished it across the air with a quick flick of her wrist. All of a sudden, the entire room came to life as broken furniture, torn book pages, and other broken objects started flying across the chamber in a whirlwind of sound and color. The table that was once split in half raised itself and molded back together seamlessly as cloth was thrown over and the shattered teapot and ceramic cups pieced themselves together; the teapot poured a fresh batch in the cups. Pages flew back into their covers, weaving themselves into the bindings, and organized themselves into the newly repaired bookshelf. Brooms, dustbins, mops, and other cleaning supplies came to life and swept the house from top to bottom until not a single particle of dust survived the intense clean up. And to top it all off, logs of firewood and a match lit themselves in the hidden fireplace to give the room a warm glow.

When the chaos finally settled and Goodwitch took a seat in the high back armchair, Sora and his friends found themselves in a completely different room from the one they entered.

"Whoa…," said Sora breathlessly.

"I know, right?" said Sun amusingly.

"Now about that letter," said Goodwitch to call their attention, but not before taking a sip of freshly brewed tea. "While I was traveling through the Sea Between, I was intercepted by a letter from the same person who sent the first just a few hours ago. They told me that you had recently started using Dust, Sora, and they wanted me to train you in order to improve your chances of fighting off the Grimm."

"A few hours?" Penny repeated. "But that would mean that they were watching on Yamatai, maybe even before that. They might have been following us from Deadman Wonderland and Fiore."

"That's a creepy thought," commented Sun.

"Any idea who it was – OW! Again?" whined Sora, rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"One thing you should know is that I do not like repeating myself," said Goodwitch strictly, snapping her crop against the table; Sora stood in attention. "I do not know who sent it, only that they had your best interest at heart and asked me to personally teach you how to use Dust. They even asked me to deliver these to you."

Another swish of her riding crop and a small package flew across the room, slamming Sora in the chest. Sora took a moment to compose himself before he opened the parcel. When he looked inside, he found two sets of Dust-tipped bullets just like the ones he found on Yamatai. One of them was laced with white Dust while the other was tipped with yellow.

"Those are Ice Dust and Lightning Dust ammunition," explained Goodwitch before Sora could ask. "Whoever sent the letter felt it would benefit you in journey. Now, it has been a long time since I have accepted any students, and have made no plans on training anyone after the Cataclysm, but the person that sent the letter was very insistent. They believe you might hold the answer to saving the worlds that have been swallowed by the darkness and…and finding out what happened to Miss Rose and her friend…." – she glanced down sadly – "I know I haven't always been kind to them during their years at Beacon…but that was only because I expected the most of them. They were destined for great things before…before that happened. Sometimes…I wonder if I should have tried a different approach with them…."

"Aw, you do have a heart – OW!" whined Sun, massaging the sore spot on his exposed knee; Sora snickered.

"That being said," said Goodwitch, resuming her strict persona, "I am willing to teach you how to use Dust properly in combat situations. The worlds are in an even more chaotic state than they were ten years ago, and we cannot afford to hold back because you are so young. The Grimm won't give a damn how old you are."

"I understand that," said Sora, nodding, "and I'm willing to learn whatever you can teach me, but…Akari…," he ended weakly, looking at the mysterious book that was resting on a pedestal in the corner of the room.

"I'm afraid that there is nothing you can do for her in the book's current state," said Goodwitch with a heavy sigh. "I stumbled across the book a little while ago during my travels, and from the beginning I could sense there was great life inside it. That is why I asked Mr. Lie Ren to repair it for me. But I am afraid that the book remains incomplete. It's pages have been scattered to many worlds, and with them, the lives of those who reside in that book. No, I'm afraid if you wish to help Miss Akaza, you'll have to find the missing pages that have been scattered."

"Great," Sun groaned. "So not only do we have to find the missing RWBY Reports, but also have to find out what happened with those missing pages. This is turning into one giant scavenging hunt."

"Well, I made a promise to help Akari find her friends, and that's what I'm gonna do," said Sora firmly, facing Goodwitch in confidence. "Please teach me everything you can, Professor Goodwitch."

"Professor…not there's a title I haven't heard in a long time," said Goodwitch almost nostalgically. She stood up from her seat and stared down the spiky-haired boy, crossing her arms with her riding crop made present. "All right, Sora, I will teach you to the fullest extent. Though I can't guarantee that you'll be able to walk out of here on your own two feet when we're through."

* * *

 **It amazes me how fast I was able to write this one up after just releasing the previous chapter less than a week ago. I guess it was because it was so much easier following a script than having to write the entire world down and build up unique characters to fit the story – wish everything was that simple. But I hope the readers are excited about this one because we got to introduce more RWBY characters and we had a brief interaction with the fourth member of Team Sora. As for the School Grounds, I will have the characters searching for the pages as usual, but I won't have them just come across them randomly like in the game – there's going to be some actual plot involved in finding them.**

 **In the next chapter, we meet up with some old friends, see the results of Sora's training with Goodwitch, and watch the fourth member kick ass…. And I've run out of things to say, so please read and review.**


	16. Grimm Reminders

**Chapter Fifteen: Grimm Reminders**

Sora was doubled over in Glynda Goodwitch's secret underground cavern, breathing heavily, one hand on his knee for support and the other leaning against Enduring Zinnia while the former teacher smacked the riding crop in her open palm disapprovingly. Sun and Penny were hanging off to the side eating sandwiches from Goodwitch's kitchen; Sora stared jealously at them until the snap of Goodwitch's crop brought his attention back. The spiky-haired boy refocused on the three wooden posts at the end of the tunnel; each of them was marked with a different symbol representing the elements of fire, ice, and lightning. Sora reloaded Enduring Zinnia's cartridge, closed one eye, and peeked through the scope.

"Fire!" shouted Goodwitch. The gunshot rang out in the cavern and the left post suddenly burst into flames. "Ice!" Another gunshot; the right post was encased in a block of ice. "Lightning!" Another gunshot; the middle post exploded with cackles of electricity brushing against the walls. "Hold! Well, that was a fairly adequate performance, Sora. While not nearly on the level I want you to be, but we are both pressed for time. For now, all you can do I keep practicing."

"Thank you for taking the time to teach me, Professor Goodwitch," said Sora, following the bespectacled woman up the spiral staircase to her house. "I know you must be busy with other things – "

"Certainly, I am," said Goodwitch rather bluntly; Sora chuckled anxiously, "but this was far more important. I don't know who it was that sent those letters to both General Schnee and myself, but they seem to think that you are the key to ending the threat the Grimm have brought about. Truth be told, I was a bit skeptical at first. Greater Huntsmen have tried for centuries to rid the world of the Grimm with no success. But in the state the worlds are in at the moment, any help would be much appreciated."

"Did the guys from the letter say _why_ he thought I was important?" asked Sora, frowning. "I mean, I'm just some kid from the islands. What can I do that Team RWBY couldn't?"

"I don't know," said Goodwitch. "Truth be told, I wouldn't even put in the same league as Team RWBY. I wouldn't even put you in the same league as Team CRDL, and they were the worst students I ever had."

Ouch, that was sure to bruise his ego.

The former teacher and the three world-hoppers stepped through Goodwitch's secret hatch, which opened Goodwitch's secret tunnel, that led down to Goodwitch's secret training cavern, and walked inside Goodwitch's semi-secret house. Say what you will about the strict teacher, she definitely valued her privacy. The tunnel hatch closed behind them, camouflaging itself with the rest of the stone floor, as Goodwitch took a seat in her comfortable armchair, sipping coffee that she had prepared herself beforehand. Sora's eyes wondered to the corner of the room where the " **School Grounds** " book rested, silently wondering if Akari was lonely being trapped in the book all by herself.

"That was all the time I had to teach you, Sora," said Goodwitch, setting her coffee mug aside. "If you are to ever come across any of types of Dust you wish to use, or simply need the time to train, please feel free to return. It's been a long time since I've had the pleasure of teaching, and I must admit I've it. And don't fret; I'll keep an eye on that book until you've recovered its pages," she added, noticing Sora's distracted stare.

"It was a pleasure to see you again, Professor Goodwitch," said Penny politely.

"Yeah, you're not such a bad old cro – YOWCH!" Sun yelped with a whimpered, massaging the crop mark on his shin.

"Honestly, do you ever learn," said Goodwitch with an irritable sigh. "Before you three leave, you should know that Mr. Arc called earlier and asked that you visit him at Team JNPR's home. It shouldn't be that hard to find; it _is_ the only household in the Third District."

Sora, Sun, and Penny nodded in confirmation to the request and politely bowed out of the house, slipping through the curtain that covered the hole in the wall. As they left, Goodwitch turned her eyes nostalgically on the coffee mug she had left on the table. The former professor lifted the cup so gently as if afraid it would break at her touch and stared at the murky contents with a downcast gaze.

"To think it would come to this…both him and her…," said Goodwitch mournful. "Sometime I wonder…did we really do the right thing, Ozpin?"

* * *

Just as Sora, Sun, and Penny were coming out of the semi-secret entrance to Goodwitch's lair, a pair of black blurs jumped from out behind the wall and stood in their path. It was a pair of Knight Grimm, clanging and clattering with their limbs shaking wildly. Sora whipped out Enduring Zinnia with one hand as Sun drew Ruyi-Bang and Jingu-Bang and Penny summoned her Marionette Swords.

"The Grimm are back?" said Sun confused. "That didn't take them long."

"It's just a couple of Knights," said Sora confidently. "We can take them. Besides, this gives me a chance to try out my new Dust ammo."

But just as Sora started loading the shells, two gunshots echoed across the courtyard and the pair of Knights exploded into black mist. Sora and the others blinked in confusion, then Sora's mouth dropped when the mysterious assailant stepped out from behind the wall. Imagine his shock when he saw Riku – his best friend _**Riku**_ – confidently strutting into the open and turning on Sora with a childishly wide grin. His forearms were covered by a pair of black gauntlets with blue diamonds and bat sigils on the guards, but with a flick of his wrists, the gauntlets retracted into a pair of bracelets.

"There you are!" said Riku rambunctiously. "What's going on?"

"Riku!" shouted Sora excitedly.

The spiky-haired boy folded Enduring Zinnia back to his belt and approached his older friend while Sun and Penny shared bewildered looks. Sora was admittedly hesitant to get near Riku, fearing that this was just another hallucination. But that didn't make sense; he had just watched Riku destroy those Grimm, right? Well, just to be sure…. Sora reached out and grabbed Riku by the sides of his mouth, pinching them apart. Felt real enough. Riku swatting his hands away felt even more real.

"Hey, hey, cut it out!" said Riku. "You're supposed to pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming, not the other person."

"So that means I'm not dreaming this time, right?" asked Sora, looking his friend up and down.

"I hope not," said Riku, acting all cool as he swept a hand through his hair. "Took forever to find you."

"Yeah, that's Riku all right," said Sora, sharing a joking chuckle with his best friend. "So where's Kairi? Isn't she with you?"

"Me? I thought she'd be with you," said Riku, looking surprised. Sora hanged his head shamefully. "Hey, don't sweat it, Sora. I'm sure she made it off the island, too. She was with us when the storm hit. She probably got blown away somewhere else. I ended up in some place I can't even pronounce. You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get here. But we did it, Sora. We're finally free. Hey, Kairi might even be looking for us now.

As the silver-haired boy talked, more to himself than Sora at this point, he failed to notice that a Hound Grimm was sneakily crawling up behind his back.

"We'll all be together again soon," Riku continued uninterrupted. "Don't worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this – "

The Hound Grimm pounced on Riku. Sora saw this, unfolded Enduring Zinnia, and zipped past his best friend before the island boy could blink. By the time Riku turned around, Sora had already slain the Hound Grimm into a cloud of dust, resting his recently modified scythe in a cool pose on his shoulder, and grinning smugly.

"Leave it to who again?" said Sora tauntingly.

"Sora, what did you…." said Riku slowly, not quite comprehending what just happened.

"You're not the only one who's been through a lot," said Sora. "I've been looking for you, and Kairi too, with Sun and Penny's help."

"Sun and…Penny, huh?" said Riku, speaking in a surprisingly indifferent tone. "So…you made new friends."

"I've made tons of friends when we visited the other worlds look for you," said Sora happily, counting off with his fingers. "There's Ganta, Shiro, and Senji from Deadman Wonderland, Taiyang and the Fairy Tail team from Fiore, Sam and Lara from Yamatai – "

"Well, you've been busy," said Riku. "Going to other worlds, making new friends. You're living our dream, Sora."

"I also found Crescent Rose – well, it's called Enduring Zinnia now," said Sora. "It used to belong to a super famous huntress named Ruby Rose. It's a one-of-a-kind weapon and I've been using it to fight the Grimm."

"So this scythe's important, huh?" said Riku, holding up Enduring Zinnia into view.

"What the?" sputtered Sora, looking back at his belt in shock. "Hey, give it back!"

Sora dived at his best friend, but the silver-haired boy effortlessly sidestepped, holding out his foot for Sora to trip over. While his younger friend collapsed on the ground, Riku held the scythe above his eyes, looking over the weapon with an intense critical eye. It took a few seconds before he was finished with it and threw it back at Sora with a detached "Catch."

"Hey, that's dangerous!" shouted Sora, though he still caught the weapon safely. "Okay, so, you're coming with us, right? We've got this awesome spaceship! Wait till you see it!"

"I don't think he should come, Sora," said Penny objectively.

"What?" yelled Sora, spinning around on the android. "Why not?"

"He's too inexperienced," said Penny firmly.

"So am I," argued Sora. "And besides, we still need a fourth member for our team in the Grand Magic Games."

"We're not going back to Crocus," said Penny. "We've already proven that world had no helpful information in finding Team RWBY. We need to move on to other worlds, and we can't complete our mission if Sun and I are forced to babysit you and your friend."

"Babysit?" shouted Sora angrily. "Is that what you think it is? I can totally handle myself, you know? I took out an Alpha Beowolf just yesterday!"

"Uh, guys, he's already left," Sun piped it.

Sora and Penny flipped around; Riku was nowhere to be seen.

"Thanks a lot, Penny," said Sora begrudgingly. Penny did have the decently to look slightly ashamed. "Oh, well. At least he's okay. And who knows? Maybe we'll run into Kairi soon, too?"

"That's the spirit, kid," said Sun optimistically, patting the boy's shoulder. "I'm sure we'll run into them again soon."

With that comforting thought in mind, Sora fell back in with Sun and Penny as they made their way around the Third District looking for Team JNPR's home. It wasn't all that hard; it was literally the only house in the entire block, like Goodwitch said it would be. Well, they didn't know if it could properly be considered a house; it looked more like the place was built into the wall with only a single window and a door to show the people actually lived there. Sora knocked on the door first.

"Come in!" said Nora's cheerful tone on the other side.

The trio of world-hoppers opened the doors and stepped through. The interior of the 'house' made it seem less like a home than the outside did. There were piles of unpacked boxes and crated in each of the corners and a bunch of random knickknacks strewed all over the floor; much of the wall paper had been torn, patches of carpet was stained or ripped up, and a single table in the middle of the room was littered with assortments of papers and maps. The only bed in the tiny space was hanging from the ceiling by some dangerously thin ropes; that did not look safe to Sora. Jaune and Ren were talking quietly in the corner while Pyrrha busied herself with the papers of the table, and Nora was dangling hazardously from the bed. When Sora's group walked in, Nora flipped over onto her feet with a bright smile on her face.

"Hey, guys, we were just thinking about you!" said Nora spiritedly.

"Not surprising," said Sun smugly. "I am unforgettable."

"Just not for the reasons you think," countered Penny, snickering under his glare.

"Have any of you ever heard of Zeref?" asked Ren suddenly, stepping in between them and Nora. "We heard that he was in Traverse Town."

"Who's Zeref?" asked Sora.

"Atlas has some records of Zeref, also known as the Black Wizard," said Penny analytically. "His story originates from ancient Fiore, stemming from over four hundred years of history. The legends are distorted, but they do have some common facts. They say that the Black Wizard Zeref brought about the deaths of millions, gave birth to tens of thousands of demons, and threw the world into chaos. Some of his books and artifacts still exist today and are considered very dangerous due to the curses that are affiliated with them. But if any of this is true, that would mean that Zeref is over four hundred years old. How could he be in town at that age?"

"He wouldn't be the first immortal bad guy we fought," said Jaune hardheartedly. "Remember Salem?"

"Yeah…I'd rather not," said Sun, suddenly looking away with gloom in his eyes.

"Zeref's the reason the Grimm have suddenly returned after you cleared them out a while ago," said Jaune. "That man has a way of attracting all kinds of trouble. Do not take him lightly."

"We know that Zeref's been using the Grimm for years," said Pyrrha. "He was the one directly responsible for causing the Cataclysm that destroyed Remnant, as I'm sure you both remember, Sun, Penny."

"It had started out like any other day," said Ren tonelessly. "Then the Grimm suddenly attacked the Kingdoms in swarms. They tore down the walls like they were nothing and crushed every Huntsman that got in their way; even the most seasoned veterans couldn't stand up against their numbers. There was a major evacuation – most people fled to Atlas because they had developed the technology to repel the Grimm. Only a couple hundred people managed to make it before Remnant was ripped apart and Atlas became a world of its own. Those who weren't lucky enough to make it to Atlas in time were either sent to other worlds…or just didn't make it."

"That awful," said Sora sympathetically.

"It happened a year after Team RWBY went missing," said Jaune. "At the time, we were too busy looking for our friends to prepare ourselves. We were just lucky to have made it out alive. That was also around the time we found out that Ruby and her team had been studying the Grimm and made several reports, as you already know. We think they were trying to find a weakness or a way to get rid of the Grimm for good. But the pages were scattered before we could get the chance to look at them."

"We're betting Zeref has most of the pages," said Nora. "Bad guys like him always seem to have something up their sleeves."

* * *

Meanwhile, standing just outside Team JNPR's very window was the Black Wizard himself, a soft smile gracing his otherwise handsome features. It astounded Zeref that out of the seven people in the house, none of them even glanced at the window, where they would have surely seen him. Either they were very inattentive or very ignorant, Zeref asserted. Standing directly at his side was Riku, who was glaring through the window directly at the back of his best friend. Or former best friend as it would seem.

"You see? It's just as I told you," Zeref said to Riku. "While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, now he values them far more than he does you. You're better off without that boy who would so casually disregard his friends. Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I will help you find what you are searching for…."

"You can take me to Kairi?" asked Riku, never taking his hate-filled eyes away from Sora.

"In time," said Zeref pleasantly. He waved his hand around in a small circle, calling forth a wisp of black mist. "But first, we much teach that child the punishment for those who were cast away their companions. We won't hurt him, at least not in the physical sense. But he will understand the pain of betrayal soon enough. First, we will need to set the playing field and introduce a new piece to the game."

His hands closed, gripping the edge of a familiar steel helmet….

* * *

Meanwhile, back inside the house….

"So you delivered the book to Goodwitch, huh?" said Ren. "Sorry I wasn't able to find all of the pages – it was the best I could do under the circumstances."

"Don't worry, we'll find them," said Sora confidently. "I made a promise to a friend. If they're scattered across the worlds, then I'll find out where they are."

"Then you'll have a lot better luck now that I've upgraded you ship," said Ren. "I installed some new navigator charts and repaired the damages that magic storm cause. I'd suggest Mid-Childa as your first stop. They have all the equipment and tool that'll help you keep track of the Grimm' movements and tell you which place to go next."

"And if you see Hayate, tell her she still owes me a hundred Lien for the boob rub!" yelled Nora.

"Don't ask," said Pyrrha quickly before Sora could open his mouth.

"Yeah, thanks…," said Sora hesitantly, cautiously looking towards Jaune. "Uh…hey, Jaune, do you have a minute. I um…I wanna talk to you about something."

"What is it?" asked Jaune, raising a curious brow.

"Its um…kinda private," said Sora, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Do you mind if we talk outside? Alone?"

The blonde knight stared at his younger friend as if he were some interest puzzle that needed to be solved. The team leader glanced over at Pyrrha, who nodded in confirmation, then pushed off the wall and walked towards the door with Sora behind him. Jaune shut the door behind him when the two of them stepped outside; Zeref and Riku were nowhere to be seen. Sora and Jaune continued to walk down the stairs and into the main courtyard to put some distance from their friends. Once they were far enough, Jaune turned on Sora and said:

"Okay, kid, what's going on? Something you can't tell Sun and Penny?"

"…I saw Ruby Rose," said Sora after a moment.

"What? Where?" said Jaune in surprise.

"Back on Yamatai when we got separated in the monastery," said Sora. "I accidentally fell into an underground lake where I saw Ruby talking to Mathias – the crazy cult leader that wanted to sacrifice Sam; General Schnee did tell you what happened, right?" – Jaune nodded – "Okay, that saves a lot of explaining. I saw her talking to Mathias and I overheard her tell him that he needed to sacrifice Sam in order to resurrect Himiko. Then she pulled out some weird medallion and opened up a portal to somewhere else – I think that's have Team RWBY used to travel to other worlds before the Gummi Ships. I didn't want to tell Sun and Penny about this because I knew they'd get upset, so I told them that it was just a cultist in disguise."

"That doesn't sound like the Ruby I knew, and she was my best friend," said Jaune thoughtfully. "You're absolutely sure it was her, and not just someone dressed like her."

"She knew the Beowolf by name and how to fight it," explained Sora. "She knew Sun and Penny by name and even said she hadn't held her 'precious Crescent Rose' in over ten years. I don't want to believe that it's the real Ruby, but she sure seemed to act like her."

"Hmm…maybe it's for the best that you don't mention it to Penny or Sun," said Jaune. "Or to anyone, for that matter. We don't everything that's going on, and I'd like to get my facts straight before we start pointing fingers. Everyone thinks of Ruby as a hero and a good friend, so throwing around accusations without any proof will end up making a bad situation worse."

"So just keep my mouth shut until we know for sure," said Sora, nodding slowly. "All right, I can understand that. But…you don't really think it could be Ruby…do you?"

"It's been ten years since I last saw her," said Jaune, his voice betraying no emotion, like he was trying to keep it locked inside. "If I've learned one thing, it's that time can change people. If it's true and Ruby's gone over to the metaphorical Dark Side, then I'm worried what might have happened to the rest of the team. If she is too far gone, then I'm afraid I'll have to…handle it."

"You mean you might…kill her?" asked Sora, eyes wide in shock.

"If necessary," said Jaune firmly. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren safe, even if it means fighting my best friend."

Sora could tell that despite his worlds, Jaune was dealing with an inner crisis over the possibility of having to fight his old friend. Jaune would put Ruby down if it was necessary, the spiky-haired boy knew, but that didn't make it any less difficult. Sora himself didn't know if he'd have the resolve to do the same. Menacing thoughts started to run through Sora's head. He was imaging himself fighting Riku in order to save Kairi. He could see himself swinging his scythe blade through the air, slashing against the silver-haired boy's gauntlets; sparks flying from the clash of metal against metal. But at the end of it all…would Sora really have the nerve to end his best friend, even if it meant saving Kairi…?

Thankfully, the spiky-haired boy didn't have to think about it any further when bone-rattling _**boom**_ blasted through the air and the ground quaked beneath their feet. Jaune managed to steady himself on his feet while Sora dropped to his hands and knees. When the shaking had passed, Jaune pulled Sora back up by his underarm and turned in the source of the disturbance. A plume of smoke was rising from over the high wall; it looked to be coming from the Second District.

"What the hell was that?" shouted Jaune.

"Jaune!"

Pyrrha appeared over the railing up the stairs, looking distressed.

"Pyrrha, what's happening?" called Jaune.

"It's the Grimm!" said Pyrrha. "A swarm of them suddenly appeared in the Second District! They're attacking everything in sight! Nora, Ren, Sun, and Penny went on ahead to repel them!"

"How did they…you know what, never mind," said Jaune. "Pyrrha, you help evacuate the people! Sora, let's go!"

"Where does that sound familiar?" said Sora sarcastically.

Sora and Jaune drew their weapons as they climbed the stairs, rushing past Pyrrha in a blur, and shouldering their way through the gates to the Second District. When they came out of the long alleyway and into the wide-stretched plaza, Jaune pulled Sora back by his shoulder before a Beowolf could fall on top of him; the Beowolf exploded into a black mist.

The scene of the battlefield was in a state of chaos; every type of Grimm that Sora had encountered was flooding the plaza from the Mutts and Knights to Bloodwyngs and Bloodhounds, even a few Beowolves scattered here and there. The ones that weren't ripping up the walls and sidewalks were stalking the people fleeing towards the First District. One unfortunate soul tripped on the ground when a Bloodhound constricted one of its bloody tentacles around their ankle and started pulling them back. The bloody Grimm pressed its paw against the victim's chest to keep them from squirming. It opened its jaws – which split into four segments – as three tongue-like tentacles wiggling out of its throat when –

"FORE!"

The Bloodhound turned its head and yelped before it was launched over the rooftops, seemingly disappearing into the stars. The victim ran so fast out of the plaza that they didn't even say thanks to Nora, who wasn't paying attention anyway because she was staring off into space when the Grimm was flung to.

"Shoot, I think I sliced that one!" said Nora disappointedly.

"Nora, stop playing games and help!" shouted Ren, shooting down a cluster of Bloodwyngs.

"Coming, Ren," said Nora in a cheerful, sing-song tone.

The overly excited woman twirled her hammer between her fingers like a baton before she skipped over the railing down into the main plaza, where she slammed her weapon down on the pavement. The concrete rolled across the plaza like a fresh ocean wave (Most people didn't bother explain how the action went against scientific logic) and knocked most of the ground-based Grimm off their feet. Ren rode the earthy wave until it reached its peak before he jumped up and flipped around so that he was hanging upside-down in the air. The bespectacled Hunter practically jammed his finger into Storm Flower's triggers while twisting his body around in a spinning motion, sending down a hailstorm of bullets on top of the Grimm army. Unfortunately, the most his attacks were capable of doing was eliminating a few Knights and Mutts – the other types were much stronger.

On the opposite side of the plaza near the fountain, Penny danced around the Grimm swarm with her Marionette Swords spinning in circles around her. With a flick of her wrist, Penny would command the blades to slice a Beowolf approaching from her right, then stab a pair of Knights clattering at her back-left. When a flock of Bloodwyngs started to circle the android from above, Penny drew in all her swords, folded them into their Gun Modes, and unleased a rapid fire laser assault. But while Penny had become distracted by the flying Grimm, she had failed to notice one of the Bloodhound's tentacles slithering around her ankle until it had pulled her leg out from under her.

Penny smacked face first into the ground before Bloodhound dragged her along the pavement, slamming her into the wall. The Atlesian Android shook her head, and then smacked the side of it to realign her optic sensors. When she next blinked, the Bloodhound was on top of her with his teeth snapping at Penny's head. The android was holding back the Grimm by the shoulders keeping it just short of ripping her face off, but the bleeding dog monster was clawing at her arms, making it difficult to hold back. That's when Sun suddenly dropped onto the Bloodhound's back and pulled Ruyi Bang's (or Jingu-Bang's) chain inside the Grimm's mouth like a rein.

"Whoa there, lil' doggy!" shouted Sun as the Grimm tried bucking him off. "You ain't getting rid of me that easily!"

"Sun, be careful!" warned Penny.

"Relax, Penny!" yelled Sun gleefully. "This literally ain't y first rodeo! All it takes is a little – finesse! Whoa, there partner! Hold it…hold it…. All right, giddy up! Hyah!"

The monkey Faunus kicked his heels into the Bloodhound's sides and the Grimm reared up on its hind legs before they charged into the Grimm swarm. The Bloodhound knocked all of the smaller Grimm like the Mutts and the Knights out of their way while shot down the ones they missed with his free shotgun-nunchaku, expertly spinning the two pieces in his hand. Halfway through the swarm, one of the Bloodwyng's dropped a blood bomb in their path. Sun jumped off the Bloodhound before it went off, but the Grimm was blown away by the explosion and dissolved into a shadowy mist.

Meanwhile, even as the plaza had turned into a miniature warzone, the photographer woman from the First District was observing the battlefield from the rooftops. She was kneeled along the edge of the Hat Shoppe with her camera out, zooming in on the Huntsmen. She snapped a picture of Nora bringing her hammer down on a group of Mutts and Ren shooting down Bloodwyngs. She captured Penny perfectly as she sliced a row of Knights in half while Sun shot a Beowolf between the legs, making drop with a whimper, before putting a bullet between its eyes. The rabbit woman pulled away from her camera, smiling softly to herself.

"It's just like the old days," said the rabbit woman. "Friends fighting alongside each other…. Before everything went wrong…. Hmm, what's that over there?" she asked, noticing movement out of the corner of her eyes. She looked through the lens of her camera, capturing a perfect shot of Sora and Jaune cutting through a group of Knights. "It's that boy again. Hmm, this might turn out to be my best work yet."

 _ **FLASH**_

"Their numbers are dropping," said Jaune, blocking a Beowolf's claw before slicing its neck. "But we still don't know which one is leading the pack."

"I thought Grimm didn't have leaders," said Sora, flipping over and slicing another Beowolf through the skull. "I thought they just attacked wildly at the first thing that moves."

"Normally, that'd be the case," explained Jaune, kicking a Knight and stabbing it through the chest. "But that wouldn't explain how the Grimm managed to breach the District without anyone knowing about it. They've been evolving much faster than usual in recent days; they're getting smarter. Someone – or something – had to have coordinated this attack."

"You think so?" asked Sora curiously, clipping the wings of a pair of Bloodwyngs. "Who do you think it is?"

"I don't – " Jaune started, before he was cut off by a panicked scream.

"JAUNE, LOOK OUT!"

The blonde knight looked up to the second level of the plaza and spotted Pyrrha, who was pointing something to Jaune's left. But when he followed her direction, the veteran Huntsman saw a blur of silver before he was sent flying across the plaza, colliding with Nora and Ren along the way. The three active members of Team JNPR were shot through the legion of Grimm and crashed into the wall of the clock tower with a large imprint in the concrete. Sora turned back to his friend at the noise when he felt something _very solid_ knuckle him across the face. The spiky-haired was launching spiraling across the plaza and bounced off the fountain wall, falling to the ground hard enough to rattle his bones.

"Sora, are you okay?" Penny asked worried, rushing to his side.

"Why is that always the first thing that people ask?" Sora groaned as he sat up. "When you see someone get throw across the room, or have something heavy dropped on them, do you think they're ever gonna be okay?"

"I was just being polite," said Penny, crossing her arms with a scowl. "No need to be rude."

"Guys, I think we have an old friend who wants to say hello," said Sun, pointing across the plaza.

Stomping across the square with thunderous footfalls – its words screeching against the cobblestone roads – was the familiar silver steel of the Giant Armor Grimm. The massive suit of armor hefted its lengthy blade off the ground to rest on its shoulder, bring its hand in front and clenching it as a way of challenging the three heroes that had bested it previously. The swarm of Grimm had stopped moving, circling the Giant Armor with noisy chatter. The Giant Armor waved its massive hand around and the Grimm suddenly turned, marching obediently at the members of Team JNPR that were rising to their feet. This left the Giant Armor to deal with Sora's team alone.

"Well, at least we know who's in charge now," said Sun.

"Didn't we already beat this guy before?" asked Sora. "I could've sworn we beat this thing before."

"Logic says that Zeref may have had a hand in this," said Penny. "Jaune did say he was in town and Zeref is known to have mastered the art of creating life. The Black Wizard must have used his magic to resurrect the Giant Armor Grimm."

"Well, that wasn't very smart," aid Sun cockily. "We wasted it before, we can do it again."

The comment seemed to fill the Giant Armor with a sense of anger as the titanic suit gripped its sword with both hands and brought the blade down. Sora and Penny jumped to the right and Sun jumped to the left; the sword smashed into the ground between them. Sun tucked and rolled before charging at the Giant armor, connecting the two pieces of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang together into their Staff Form. The Monkey Faunus leapt onto the broad side of the Giant Armor's sword and raced the length of its arm, ducking underneath the Grimm's outstretched hand as it tried to grab him. Sun pivoted on the Armor's shoulder then threw himself across, smacking his staff against the side of the Grimm's helmet, and landed on the armor's other shoulder. When the Giant Armor turned its head toward him, Sun disconnected his shotgun-nunchaku and blasted two rounds into the armor's eye holes.

The Giant Armor stumbled into the side of the plaza, slamming its hand on the second level to keep itself from falling over (Sun had flipped off already). But Penny's Marionette Swords threw out from sidewalk ahead and spun around the extended limb until the wires created a small cocoon. Penny grabbed all twelve wires in her hands while digging her feet into the road and pulled with all of her strength. The Giant Arm's hand was pulled out from under it and fell forward so that it upper body crashed the railing and rested haphazardly against the higher street level. The Giant Armor momentarily discarded its sword and reached out for the wire, but Penny initiated the command to retract the wires and in turn was pulled forward at rapid speed toward the armor itself. Penny pulled back her fist as she approached and slammed it into the side of the Giant Armor's helmet with the strength of a speeding train, forming a massive dent in the metal.

The Giant Armor fell backwards with a mighty crash into the lower plaza as Penny released the Marionette wires; the entire Second district quaked; even the scattered Grimm looked fearful. The artificial Grimm's limbs creaked in a cringe-worthy way as it slowly but dutifully pulled itself into a sitting position. It reached out to collect its swords, but a blur of red and brown zoomed past the Giant Armor's wrist and the Giant Armor suddenly found its hand mysteriously severed. The blur zipped in a circle around the Giant Armor's upper left arm and the limb became separated from the rest of the suit. The artificial Grimm tried to stand up, but the blur sliced its ankles apart, causing the armor to fall back again. It was utterly helpless.

As the Giant Armor craned its head, it witnessed the blurred outline of Sora sweeping Enduring Zinnia behind him before burying the scythe blade in the Grimm's neck. Sora made multiple runs around the Giant Armor's head with Enduring Zinnia slicing across the shadows underneath the helmet before he jumped off. The boy from the islands landed in front of the Grimm swarm, striking what he hoped was a cool pose, as the Giant Armor's head crashed behind him.

The plaza became uncomfortably silent; the Grimm did not move, only stared at Sora. Penny and Sun joined his side shortly after, striking their own cool poses. Now the Grimm took a step back.

"And this is the part where you run," Sun commented to the Grimm.

And run they did; clawing and climbing over their brethren in desperation for escape; leaping over rooftops and diving into sewer systems until none were left in sight. Sora and his friends cheered and high-fived one another in celeb ration of their overwhelming victory.

"Man, that was just too easy!" said Sora jubilantly.

"I thought with the swarm of Grimm invading, we'd have a much harder time," said Penny, delightfully surprised. "I guess all of our travels have made us even better. Though we might be getting a tad…overconfident." She added, watching Nora chest bump Ren; the bespectacled man hit the ground.

"We're not overconfident," said Sun brightly. "We're just that good."

Meanwhile, on the rooftops opposite of the rabbit photographer, the Black Wizard Zeref stood perched over the edge, a soft smile of contentment drawn across his features.

"They've gotten more powerful since last time," said Zeref. The Black Wizard held out his hand and crafted a ball of shadow surrounded by arcs of static. "Perhaps it's time we should up the ante."

And the Black Wizard casually tossed the black sphere into the plaza below, watching as it glided loftily over the severed pieces of the Giant Armor. The ball of shadow flew down into the Giant Armor's helmet and dissolved into the metal. As the heroes praised themselves for their triumph, all celebration was cut short when a deep, rattling sound echoed across the plaza. Pyrrha suddenly gasped with her hands over her mouth and everyone turned in the direction she was facing. They were in awe as the severed parts of the Giant Armor – which should have dissolved like any other Grimm – began floating off the ground and reattached themselves to the main body. In a few seconds, the Giant Armor stood as strong as it had moments ago. Sora, Sun, Penny, Jaune, Nora, and Ren formed a line with their weapons drawn (Pyrrha stayed back under Jaune's orders).

For a long moment, the massive Grimm and the six Hunters just stared each down. Then the Giant Armor rattled again.

A ripple of energy passed over the Giant Armor's massive form, causing an instantaneous transformation as the light passed over its limbs. It's smooth, rounded fingers changed to serrated blades; the rounded boots ended at a pointed tip; once sterling-silver armor transformed into a metal of pitch black; the layers on its chest became more pointed and overlapping. And when the light passed over the dented helmet, it became dark as the rest of the armor with a silver faceguard and a tail of white threads sprouted from the back. The sigil of the artificial Grimm (A broken heart topped with flames) was branded of its head as a pair of burning-red eyes appeared trough the holes of its helmet.

The newly constructed Giant Armor took a step forward, shaking the plaza so hard that the surrounding windows shattered. The line of heroes took a quick step away from the enormous Grimm.

"Is that really the Giant Armor?" said Ren stunned.

"It doesn't look like a Giant Armor," said Nora, who wasn't sporting her usual confident smile. "It looks more like a Mega Armor now."

"Giant or Mega, it's still just a slow pile of metal," said Sun confidently. "We're faster, so we can take it out easy."

"Sun, don't do anything – " Jaune started; Sun had already run off " – stupid…. I thought he was supposed to be the smart one of Team SSSN."

"Every group needs a gag character, I suppose," Penny shrugged.

Sun rushed across the plaza twirling Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang behind him as the newly christened Mega Armor pulled back its fist and threw a punch down on the monkey Faunus. As Sun had predicted, he was much faster than the titanic armored Grimm and easily jumped over the fist as it slammed into the ground, uprooting much of the pavement. The monkey Faunus run up the length of the Mega Armor's arm much like last time and even ducked underneath it's outstretched again. When he reached the Armor's shoulder, Sun launched himself at the Grimm's helmet and took another swing at it. But as the monkey Faunus took a swipe at the monster, the Mega Armor suddenly vanished; Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang hit nothing but air.

"What the?" sputtered Sun. "Where did he - ?"

"Sun, behind you!" screamed Pyrrha.

The monkey Faunus turned his neck so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. The Mega Armor seemed to zoom back into reality behind him with its hand raised across its shoulder before backhanding the monkey Faunus. Sun was shot across the square through the wall of the Hat Shoppe. He groaned in pain as he flipped himself onto his back; he could feel his aura shielding weakening already. How could he have lost some much strength from just one hit? Sadly, Sun didn't have long to dwell on this before the Mega Armor's fist smashed through the wall and slammed him against the floor; his aura shield shattered upon impact. The Mega Armor retrieved its hand and stared into the Shoppe. The Faunus was still alive, but too weak to fight again. There was no point in fighting him anymore, so the Mega Armor turned on the remaining heroes, who all took defensive positions.

"He took out Sun in a couple hits," groaned Sora.

"We need to spread out," said Jaune. "Cover as much ground and attack from all sides. It's faster than us, so trying not to – AUGH!"

"Jaune!" cried Pyrrha.

The Mega Armor had crossed the plaza in the blink of an eye and arched its fist in an uppercut that launched Jaune into the wall halfway up the clock tower. The blonde knight was pressed into the wall, shaping a small crater in the cement. Jaune winced as he started pulling himself away, but quickly leaned back and raised his shield over himself when the Mega Armor suddenly zipped in front of him. The Mega Armor threw a flurry of rapid-fire punches at Jaune. Though his shield didn't look like it would be able to hold up against a repetitive force, the thin metal was not giving in to the Mega Armor's fists and fulfilling its duty of protecting Jaune.

Penny's Marionette Swords flew out behind the Mega Armor and looped around the Grimm's chest and waist, tightening its wires around the body. The Mega Armor ended its assault (Jaune fell down and landed on his hands and knees, breathing raggedly) and turned around as it spotted Penny pulling back. The Atlesian Android was digging her feet into the ground that stones were starting to break off the road, and her grip on the wires was so tight that the artificial skin on her palms was tearing apart. But pulling as hard as she could, the Mega Armor would not move. Instead, the Mega Armor wrapped its hands around the wires and pulled Penny towards _it_. The Mega Armor nailed its fist into Penny, breaking the android into a dozen pieces and throwing her parts across the square. The android's head landed next to Jaune, frowning.

"You know, this is starting to look like a running gag, too," said Penny in displeasure.

The Mega Armor struggled to rip the wires away the wires off its chest plate because they were so thin when a spray of bullets clattered against the side of its helmet. The titanic Grimm temporarily ignored the wire and turned around towards Ren, who was reloading his clip while Nora stepped forward with a maniacal grin. Her weapon took on the form of a grenade launcher and rocketed one of the heavy rounds at the Grimm. Unfortunately, the Mega Armor's quick reflexes snatched the grenade out of the air and vanished of sight in a blur of speed. When the Mega Armor appeared again, it stopped directly behind Nora and Ren, dropped the grenade between them, and zoomed to the opposite side of the plaza. The bomb went off before either of them could move away.

Ren was flung off the ground and sent spiraling through the hotel window, smashing through the red room door, bouncing off the bed and slamming into the wall. He started picking himself up when an unfortunate accident of the wardrobe falling on top of him occurred. He did get back up. While at the same time, Nora bounced across the square and hit the back of her head against the plaza wall, curling up in a ball and groaning painfully. That really smarts.

The ground rumbled again and Nora turned her eyes up at the Mega Armor that was standing over her with its fist pulled back. The Mega Armor brought its knuckle down when a blur or red and brown zoomed past and took Nora away just before the Mega Armor could hit. The titanic Grimm turned its head – it's helmet creaked ominously – and its burning-red eyes seemed to narrow on Sora, who was dropping off Nora in a corner near the clock tower.

"You okay?" asked Sora; Nora looked up at him expectantly. "Right, dumb question."

"That thing took out Ren and Jaune like they were nothing," said Nora. "It's way too fast for us."

"Not as fast as me," said Sora, he didn't nearly sound as confident. "I'll try to keep that thing distracted while you help the others."

"There's no way you can beat that thing by yourself," said Nora worriedly.

"I'm not trying to beat it," said Sora seriously. "No matter how you look at it, that thing's got us outmatched. There's no way we're going to win back the Second District, so the best thing we can do is get everyone to the First and Third Districts and seal the Second District off."

"We can't just give this place up," said Nora aghast. "People live here. It's the only homes they have left."

"Unless a miracle shows up out of nowhere, I don't know how we're – look out!" screamed Sora.

Sora tackled Nora out of the way as the Mega Armor's fist flew over their heads and smashed through the clock tower wall. The spiky-haired boy pushed Nora ahead, silently gesturing her to follow his plan, and turned to the Mega Armor with Enduring Zinnia drawn as the colossus ripped its hand free.

"C'mon, you overgrown tin can!" shouted Sora, waving his arms. "Come and get me if you think you can keep up!"

The Mega Armor crossed the area in a flash and brought its fist down on Sora, but the spiky-haired boy rolled out of the way and zipped to the other side. The titanic Grimm quickly gave chase and zoomed ahead of Sora before swatting its hand at the scythe-wielder. Sora dropped to his knees, leaned back, and slid underneath the Grimm's massive hand while drawing Enduring Zinnia from his belt at the same time. The spiky-haired Huntsman hooked the scythe around the Mega Armor's finger and was carried along with the momentum to flip back and land on top of the Mega Armor's hand.

Sora started running up the Mega Armor's hand, but the Grimm colossus learned from the last two attempts Sun made and flung its arm skyward. The boy from the island was carelessly flung into the air, but he quickly righted himself and leaned downward as gravity pulled him back. The Mega Armor stretched out its hand to grab him, but Sora skillfully slipped through the armor's finger. As he started sliding down the length of its arm, Sora stabbed Enduring Zinnia's blade into the Grimm's armor and dragged it along, making a long scratch in the Grimm's armor. When Sora flipped off when he reached the Mega Armor's shoulder and landed safely on the second level of the plaza.

The Mega Armor turned to face Sora, looked down at the new scratch it received, and looked at him again, glaring. Sora chuckled nervously.

"Hey, I'm sure that'll buff o – WHOA!" Sora yelped, ducking the Mega Armor's fist.

 _ **FLASH**_

The rabbit photographer lowered her camera with an ugly frown crossing her lovely face. Watching the battlefield from above, she could tell the boy had no chance of defeating the Grimm alone. Sun or Jaune might have been able to help had the former not been so cocky and the latter had not gotten distracted. Now the boy had no chance of surviving – the Mega Armor was too strong…. The rabbit woman sighed terribly as she stowed the camera in its carrying case.

"Coco, Fox, Yatsu, I wish you were here," said the rabbit woman as she took off her glasses and tucked them into her pocket. "None of you would have hesitated; you were all so much more confident than I am…. But…I can't just sit by and watch a little boy get killed. Ooh, I hope I'm not about to make another terrible mistake."

Sora flipped backwards underneath the Mega Armor's hand swipe and swung Enduring Zinnia to deflect the other hand. As the Mega Armor was moving in closer, Sora pivoted on his heel and ducked down one of the nearest alleys when the Grimm reached out to grab him. Unfortunately, the alley led to a dead end. He looked up at the high walls of the buildings and considering using Enduring Zinnia to climb his way up like Lara did, but the Mega Armor would have caught him before he even made it halfway.

Speaking of which, the Mega Armor managed squeeze itself into the narrow alley and edged itself along with its hand outstretched. Sora held his scythe defensively. If he was going to go down, he was going to go down swinging – literally. The Mega Armor's hand was on top of him –

"Look out below!" came the small battle cry from above.

Sora and the Mega Armor snapped their heads up just as the rabbit photographer leapt over the edge of the roof, holding what looked to be the wire-frame of a large spear over her head. The Faunus woman dropped down at an incredible speed, landed on top of the Mega Armor's hand, and pierced the holographic weapon through the Grimm's gauntlets. The Mega Armor roared in pain, staggering backwards and clutching its limb as the rabbit Faunus flipped off (the holographic spear dissolved). As the rabbit-eared woman landed elegantly in front of him, Sora could help but stare at her back in awe. She had pierced the Grimm's incredibly thick armor and she made it look easy. The would-be photographer looked over her shoulder at him smiled softly; Sora could feel the heat rising to his face again.

"Are you okay – oh, sorry, you don't like people asking that," said the rabbit woman apologetically. "What I mean is, you're not hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm fine," said Sora after collecting his wits. "You're the lady from the First District. The one that –sorta – took my picture."

"Velvet," said the Faunus woman. "Velvet Scarlatina. I just realized we never had a chance to introduce ourselves before. I'm sorry I wasn't clear enough – ooh, you're such a dumb bunny, Velvet," she said, apparently scolding herself.

"Hey, it's no problem," said Sora reassuringly. "Really, it was my fault. I was – look out!"

The Mega Armor was still mad from before and started bringing its hand down on top of the pair to squash them. Velvet quickly pivoted on her toes and held her hand forward, clutching at the air. A projector lens appeared on the side of the satchel she was carrying and emitted a blue light that formed a wire-frame model of a thin rapier – it was like one of those 3D printers Penny told him about. Velvet Scarlatina jabbed the rapier up to meet with the Mega Armor's hand and the Grimm colossus was suddenly flung backward, scrapping the walls on either side.

The rapier faded and the projector light covered Velvet's arms and legs, creating a pair of shotgun gauntlets similar to Riku's and a pair of mechanized boots. The rabbit Faunus struck a combat pose; both the gauntlets and the boots clicked like they were being loaded.

The Mega Armor was grabbing either side of the walls to right itself, which present Velvet with the opportunity to run up to it without resistance. Velvet hopped off the ground, landed on its knee, and then bounced off again until she was up close with its helmet. The Rabbit Faunus threw a nasty right hook that caused the Grimm's helmet to spin completely around, and then followed up with a flying double kick while still in the air. An explosion occurred upon impact that threw the Mega Armor pout of the alley and onto its back in the main plaza, ripping up the cobblestone beneath it. The Armor, of course, didn't stay down very long; it sat itself back up and twisted its helmet back in the proper direction, shooting an angry glare at Velvet.

The shotgun-gauntlet and boot combo faded like the other holographic weapons and the projector emitted its light again into Velvet's hand. This time it formed a wire-frame outline of a huge Gatling Gun with which the rabbit Faunus pelted the Grimm colossus with the hailstorm of holographic bullets. The Mega Armor raised its arms over its head to protect itself as Velvet gradually took steps closer to the Grimm, increasing the force as she moved forward. Sora followed her closely until they reached the mouth of the alley where he decided to hang back and watch. Velvet, Sora noticed, had the Grimm pinned down; it couldn't even use its hyper speed to get away.

"Is that Velvet?"

Sora turned to his left; Pyrrha was carrying Jaune by her shoulder, Nora was giving Ren a piggy back ride, and Sun was dangling Penny's head in one hand while nursing the bump on her head with the other.

"You know her?" asked Sora.

"We used to go to school together," said Pyrrha with a proud smile. "She was in the year above us. She's really stand out much; she was very shy."

"Don't you think we should help her?" said Sora.

"Don't bother," said Jaune. "Velvet's got this under control. She might not look like much, but she's what you'd call a Hidden Badass."

Looking back toward the fight, it appeared that the Gatling gun had run out of ammunition as the wire-frame weapon vanished like the others. Now free of the pressure, the Mega Armor zoomed across the square, raised its foot, and stomped on the rabbit Faunus, apparently wising up to not using punches against her. Not that it would have mattered.

Velvet hopped back and summoned a pair of holographic sickles from her projector bag. The rabbit Faunus swung the new weapons around and the blades suddenly separated from the grips, connected only by a long length of chain. The sickles curved around and punctured the metal near the Mega Armor's neck, digging into it. Velvet tugged at the chain and was suddenly pulled off the ground, flying toward the Mega Armor. After narrowly dodging the Mega Armor's swinging arm, Velvet landed on the Mega Armor's shoulder in a crouched position as the holographic sickles faded from existence. The Mega Armor reached up for the Faunus with both hands, but Velvet swiftly crafted another pair of holographic weapons: a sword and a cleaver that doubled as a sheath. The rabbit Faunus did a quick pirouette with both razor-edged blades against the Mega Armor's hands, slicing off the Grimm's fingers in one sweep.

"Now that's a katana," said Sun. Everyone turned together and gave him a disappointed stare. "What? Someone had to say it."

"Or you could not say it at all," suggested Penny. Sun dropped her. "OW!"

The sword (katana) and cleaver faded away and Velvet leapt off the Mega Armor's shoulder while the Grimm had become distracted with its loss of digits. As she soared gracefully through the air, illuminated by the light of the radiant moon behind her, the projector box activated once more. The wire-frame model of Crescent Rose was hold behind her back in both hands as the rabbit Faunus turned slowly in the air. Her eyes, partially covered by the chocolate-brown fringe, were half-lidded as if she were lost in a dream-like state.

The Mega Armor finally turned its attention away from its severed fingers toward the rabbit Faunus, which soon became its final mistake. Now that the Grimm was focused on her, Velvet allowed herself to be taken by gravity and descended upon Traverse Town in a blur of color. The rabbit Faunus twirled in many circles with the holographic Crescent Rose swinging behind her. And then, before anyone could blink, Velvet sliced the Mega Armor's neck.

Velvet landed gracefully on her feet as the holographic Crescent Rose dissolved in her hands; the Mega Armor's helmet dropped with a heavy _thud_ behind her. The Mega Armor decapitated body dropped to its knees and started to fall forward. Sora screamed for Velvet to move out of the way before it crushed he, but the warning was unneeded; she did a quick spin kick and knocked the body on its side. Eventually, the Mega Armor's body would fade just like any other Grimm would, though everyone present failed to notice the blue orb floating away into the sky.

Velvet let out a sigh of relief as she retrieved her glasses, settling them gently on the bridge of her nose. Little known fact: Velvet couldn't see very well without her glasses – she used her ears to direct her in the fight. Now that she could see better, the rabbit Faunus turned to face Sora and the other, but jump back slightly when she realized they were already moving in on her personal space. Sora, Sun, and Nora were all talking over one another in high babbling voices, making it difficult for Velvet to understand.

"All right, you three, settle down before I tell Goodwitch you're misbehaving again," said Pyrrha sternly, like a mother scolding a child. The three pouted and stepped back. "Sorry about that, Velvet. They get easily excited."

"I completely understand," said Velvet with a soft smile. "My oum…you're just as beautiful as I remember you were. It's been so long since I've see you, Pyrrha – or any of you for that matter. It must have been – "

"Ten years," said Jaune. "Since Team RWBY vanished and we all split up to find them."

"They're still missing?" asked Velvet. No one said anything, only hanging their heads shamefully. "Oh…I see…I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help."

"After tonight, I think you helped us plenty," said Ren. "What are you doing in Traverse Town, anyway? We haven't seen you around before."

"I've been traveling the worlds for ten years trying to look for my friends," said Velvet. "Coco, Fox, and Yatsu have been missing since the Cataclysms. Then a couple days ago, I got a letter from Mr. Spriggan – he's a nice friend who's been helping me over the years; I think you'd like him. He said I might find some old friends in Town. I guess he was talking about you."

"Well, it's a good thing you showed up," said Sora.

Meanwhile, Zeref gazed upon the crowd of Huntsmen in the square below with a triumphant smile. He held out his hand and the blue orb that had had been contained in the Mega Armor now floated freely in his palm.

"And now all the pieces are in place," said Zeref softly. "It's your move now, Sora. But be careful not to bear your soul to the wrong people. You might find that you don't know them as well as you think.

* * *

 **Well, I'm half and half on this one. I think I did a good job with the action sequences, but I feel that the dialogue is…choppy (that's putting it nicely). Either way, Velvet has made her appearance in the story and will be serving as the fourth member of the team. I feel that her Jack-of-all-Trades abilities would be useful asset to the team and her personality would be a shining point to a group that has been semi-hardened by Atlesian military training. Plus, I might be a bit sadistic in watching Sora squirm.**

 **You're also probably wondering why Pyrrha didn't get involved in the fight even though her semblance could have easily torn the Mega Armor apart. Well, that's because even though she was resurrected, she still feels the wounds she suffered from Cinder when she died. As it stands, Pyrrha is only at half the strength the used to have and extensive activity and use of her semblance can cause her wounds to flare up, causing her to go into a seizure. That's why she's suited for the "Aerith role" of this story.**

 **The next chapter returns to Crocus and starts the first round of the Grand Magic. Now for the fighting segment, I've already decided to have a match-up between Sora's Team and Fairy Tail, but there are still two more rounds left undecided. That's where I want you, the fans, to decide who should fight who. The teams consist of:**

Team Sabertooth (Sting, Rogue, Yukino, Neo)

Team JNPR (Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren)

Team Eto (Nya-tan, Inu-Tan, Kei-Tan, Uri-Tan)

Team SHDO (Stella, Honey, Domino, Olive)

 **A shout out will go to the ones who picks the best match-up. So until next time, please read and review.**


	17. Grand Magic Games - Hidden, Part 1

**Chapter Sixteen: Grand Magic Games – Hidden, Part 1**

The group of eight huntsmen holed themselves in Team JNPR's "House" (Again, Sora had some serious doubts about the name), patching themselves up from their fight with the Mega Armor less than an hour ago. With a little rest and their aura rejuvenated, most of their injuries were able to heal themselves, though Sun still demanded an ice pack for his throbbing head and Penny needed all her parts before she could reassemble herself. So while Ren assisted in the repairs to Penny's systems and Pyrrha nursed the moaning monkey, Sora, Jaune, Nora, and Velvet sat around the table sharing stories of their adventures.

" – and that's when Misaka zapped Shirai for what must have been the hundredth time since I'd arrived," Velvet concluded, taking a quick sip of the coffee that had been provided for her. "You would have thought she'd have learned by then, but Shirai just seems like a glutton for punishment. Either that, or she's a masochist. It was a nightmare for me because every time Misaka zapped her, she'd fire the circuits in my camera and I had to buy new ones. I nearly spent four thousand Lien on parts. Suffice to say, I won't be visiting Academy City again anytime soon."

"Wow, you've been around a lot, Velvet," said Sora admirably.

"I had to – I needed to find my friends," said Velvet, taking another sip. "I started out with some of the worlds closest to where Remnant used to be – Academy City, Karakura Town, Hekseville, the Grand Line, Republic City – but I had no such luck finding them. You'd think it'd be easy to find them; Yatsu alone would stand out like a sour thumb."

"And you never came across anything about Team RWBY while you were traveling?" asked Jaune hopefully.

"No, I'm sorry," said Velvet, shaking her head apologetically. "A few years after the Cataclysm, I tried going back to where Remnant used to be to see if I could find any clues, but…. Well, it was the strangest thing. Just north from where Vale once was, I found a large white castle sitting on the precipice of the world. It looked like it had been built recently, though I couldn't imagine who would have built it with the way the world was as the time, under the threat of constant Grimm invasions. I thought about going inside once, but there was something about that place that made me feel like I shouldn't be there."

"Did you take a picture of it?" asked Nora curiously.

"I tried, but…well, see for yourself," said Velvet.

The rabbit Faunus reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a single photograph and slid it to the center of the table. Sora, Jaune, and Nora leaned forward. Where the image should have been, there was only a fuzzy white screen like the picture had been taken in the middle of a blizzard.

"Every picture I took of the castle is the same," said Velvet; her ears started to droop sadly. "I'm sorry I'm not much help."

"H-Hey, don't worry about it!" said Sora stuttered quickly; he didn't like see a cute girl so upset. "It's totally fine! It's not like we're ever gonna go there, so it doesn't matter if we don't know anything! You did all right, Velvet!"

"Thanks, Sora," said Velvet, smiling sweetly. "You're so nice."

Sora's face was hot enough to fry an egg on – Nora looked like she had the same idea when she pulled out a carton of eggs from God-knows-where; Jaune slapped her hand away and gave her a stern look.

Meanwhile, Ren finished screw driving the final adjustments to Penny's full repaired systems, reloaded the folded Marionette Swords in the hidden compartment, and slammed the panel on her back shut. The bespectacled Huntsman touched a hidden button just below Penny's neck – a building, whirring sound filled the small house as Penny lifted her head and her eyes slide open.

"That should just about do it," said Ren, wiping off his greasy hands. "Your automated repair function should be kicking in at any moment to fix anything I might have overlooked. For the most part, the damages are merely cosmic; nothing long term."

"Sensational!" said Penny cheerfully.

"Guess that means we should get moving to the next world," said Sora as he stood out of his chair. "Um…where're we going again?"

"The Winter General called in earlier while you were training with Goodwitch," said Sun. "Said she wanted us to report to Mid-Childa as soon as we could. She thought that since the Time-Space Administration does investigations across multiple worlds, they might have some info on Ruby and her team."

"Then I guess we're off to Mid-Chil – " Sora started when Jaune's Scroll started ringing. "Dude, seriously? Put it on vibrate."

"Sorry, it's just a message from the Grand Magic Games committee," said Jaune, looking over the text. "Looks like preparations for the first round are finished and now they're calling back all six teams competing for tomorrow. Heh, now that is uncanny timing."

"Oh man, I totally forgot!" shouted Sora in a panic, his hands flying to his hairline. "We've been so busy dealing with Sun Goddesses, cult leaders, and Mega Grimm that we forgot that we're still looking for a fourth member! Crap! You think Riku might still be around somewhere? Gah, why'd he have to run off in the first place."

"Sora, I already told you, we're not going back to Crocus," said Penny sternly. When the spiky-haired boy opened his mouth to protest, she cut him off. "We've already exhausted our lead there when we ran into Taiyang. We have no reason to be competing in a bunch of silly games."

"Come to think of it, why are you guys competing?" asked Sun, pointing to the members of Team JNPR. "Since you're so busy taking care of the town, I didn't think you'd have time to be competing."

"Normally, we wouldn't," said Pyrrha. "But we heard from a reliable source that one of the missing RWBY Report pages is somewhere in the King's royal library."

"WHAT?!" shouted Sora, Penny, and Sun in unified shock.

"There's no way we could get into the library without breaking in – that was Nora's idea, by the way," said Jaune; Nora grinned mischievously and flashed the peace sign. "But we heard through someone of our contacts in Fiore that the King is a huge fan of the Grand Magic Games. We figured that if we win the Games, we can ask the king for permission to search through his library and hopefully recover that missing page."

"Those Reports are the only clues we have to figuring out what happened to Team RWBY," said Ren. "We were just lucky that the Games were open to everyone this year or that page would've been lost forever."

"That settles it; we have to compete now!" said Sora, turning to Penny with a smug look.

"…oh all right, I see your point," said Penny in a defeated voice. "Technically, competing in the Games would be following General Schnee's order since our mission is to search any leads that might tell us what became of Team RWBY…. But if we're going to compete, we can't just accept anyone into our team. I'm sorry, Sora, I know Riku is your best friend, but we need to increase the odds in our favor if we fully intend on winning. Besides Team JNPR , there are four other teams that passed the preliminaries, including Fairy Tail. And you saw how strong Fairy Tail was last time we met."

"She's right, kid," said Sun. "We need someone strong and smart with years of life experience and is a major badass when it comes to a fight. But where are we gonna find someone like that on such short notice."

Sora, Sun, and Penny bowed their heads thoughtfully and hummed together in thought…. Then a short slurping sound filled the suddenly quiet household and everyone turned to the opposite side of the table. Velvet was sipping her coffee smoothly, savoring the bitter-sweet caffeination, when her eyes turned up and noticed that everyone was looking in her direction. Jaune and Ren had small grins, Pyrrha smiled with her hands folded in front of her, and Sora, Sun, Penny, and Nora were stretching their lips so widely it was boarderlining creepy. The rabbit Faunus turned in her chair for a quick second, and when she realized that there was nothing behind her of any interest, she turned back in her chair and tilted her head.

"Eh?" muttered Velvet in confusion.

* * *

 **CROCUS**

* * *

The surplus of people climbing overly exaggerated staircase from the town to the coliseum on high was just as crowded as Sora remembered from their first visit. None of them had the fortune of using a space ship to fly to the top of the mountain. Sora, Sun, Penny, and Velvet walked to the corridor with the "authorized personnel only" sign; Team JNPR had already gone ahead of them while they were trying to convince Velvet to join their team.

"Thank you for doing this for us, Velvet," said Penny appreciatively. "We wouldn't have made it in time if you hadn't been available – not to say that's the only reason we invited you to join. You're the most capable Huntress among us, so we just thought – "

"I get it; it's totally fine," said Velvet with a polite smile. "And to tell you the truth, I've always wanted to compete in the Grand Magic Games. I was here where the Games first started seven years ago. That was the year Sabertooth started their unbreakable winning streak."

"Sabertooth?" asked Sora.

"They used to be a no-name guild until seven years ago when the Guild Master changed and they gained new members," said Velvet. "They surprised everyone when they crushed the competition so effortlessly and continued to do so for the next six years. Back then, everyone thought Fairy Tail was going to win because they were the number one guild in Fiore, but they ran into some bad luck when their strongest members suddenly disappeared. I did hear a rumor that Fairy Tail's strongest members were back now."

"It's true," said Sun. "They saved our necks a while ago."

"Then we're going into an uphill battle on this one," said Velvet, biting her lip. "Fairy Tail was super strong seven years ago, especially their Dragon Slayer, their Ice Wizard, and the Titania. And Sabertooth is the strongest guild in Fiore for a reason."

"And one of those reasons is by making deals with criminals." Sora team stopped near the entryway and turned to their left where they spied muscular blonde with a very handsome beard leaning against one of the many pillars around the coliseum. "Hey, Sora, you're looking better than you were a couple weeks ago."

"Taiyang!" shouted Sora gleefully, running up to the retired Huntsman. "You're still here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were doing all right," said Taiyang in a fatherly sort of way when he noticed Enduring Zinnia stick out from his belt. "Guess you figured out how the upgrades work. My little girl's a real genius, I tell ya. Makes her old man proud…. Say, you haven't – "

"Er – not yet," said Sora, not having the heard to tell him about Yamatai.

"Oh…," said Taiyang disappointedly. "Well…I'm sure they'll turn up eventually. Just gotta keep holding on to hope, right?" – Sora nodded as the rest of his team joined them – "Looks like you managed to put a whole team together just in time."

"You said something about Sabertooth working with criminals," said Penny, getting straight to the point. "What did you mean?"

"Roman Torchwick," said Taiyang simply, crossing his arms with a glare. "He's not only Sabertooth's biggest sponsor, but he's also their Guild Master."

"WHAT?!" yelled the team, and Velvet asked, "How could they let _Roman Torchwick_ become Guild Master."

"They didn't have a choice," said Taiyang. "Torchwick just showed up one day seven years ago and pushed his way in – took down the old Guild Master and tossed him out like yesterday's trash. Then he started pulling together strong wizards from across the world and forced their way through the Grand Magic Games. After they started winning every year, I doubt anyone was complaining about Roman sitting at the head. Torchwick has been riding on Sabertooth's success for years and has made himself nice little empire. He's got influence almost everywhere in Fiore, including the Game's committee. He's the one that commissioned the Games to be open to everyone this year just so that I could compete."

"Hate to admit it," said Sun begrudgingly, "but Torchwick's come a long way since his days as Cinder's flunky."

"There's something else you outta know," said Taiyang seriously. "Since I quit the team, Sabertooth found a replacement. It's – "

As if expertly timed, the thunderous echoes of trumpets rang from the coliseum.

"Crap! The Games are about to start!" yelped Sun.

"Sorry to run, Taiyang!" Sora yelled over his shoulder as the team started running to the entryway. "Make sure to cheer for us!"

"Wait, I gotta tell you – " Taiyang called out, but they were already gone. "Sigh…good luck, kid. You're going to need it."

* * *

The coliseum was shaking to the thunderous beat of a million simultaneous footsteps headed towards the stands as the skyline above the stadium was clouded in colorful sparks of fireworks and billions of balloons were released into the wind. It was time: the first day of the Grand Magic Games was about to start; the atmosphere was choking with a mixture of tension and excitement. Members of the crowd were screaming out the names of contestants – one or two even called out for Sun (Damn those rock hard abs, Sora thought) – but most of the audience had only come to cheer for the reigning champions, Sabertooth.

At the highest point of the coliseum with an excellent view of the field below was the commentator's box with its three colorful analysts waiting for the matches to begin. The first was a middle-aged short man with an unnaturally large head compared to his small, beady eyes with a head of shiny-black hair that was obviously a toupee to anyone who saw it. The second commentator was a high school girl with short, blonde hair, wide reddish-orange eyes, and a perpetually wide smile that was currently gnawing on a package of bread. The final analyst in the box was also a teenage girl with short brunette hair and a sweet smile wearing a white-and-green sailor uniform.

" **The big day has finally arrived, folks,** " said the first commentator. " **The Grand Magic Games will be getting underway shortly. This is going to be a year to remember. I'm your leading commentator, Chapati Lola. And joining me this year is official Myojo Academy Arbitrator, Nio Hashiri.** "

" **Nice to be here!** " said Nio cheerfully, flashing the peace sign. " **This year's Grand Magic Games is brought to you by Official Myojo Academy Melon Bread! Melon Bread: the go-to snack for assassins, serial killers, delusional psychopaths, and kindergarten teachers!** "

" **And let's not forget today's special guest commentator,** " said Chapati Lola. " **She's the hero that saved Ooarai Academy from closure and newly appointed Minister of Defense, Miho Nishizumi!** "

" **Hero might be a little much** ," said Miho humbly. " **It was a team effort. I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends. I wish everyone competing today the best of luck.** "

" **Now the time has come to meet our competitors,** " said Chapati Lola. " **First up, in sixth place, an old school wild bunch of wizards from Magnolia. They had luck in the prelims, but now they're raring to take back first place by force. Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, and Erza scarlet of Team Fairy Tail!** "

The four wizards that had saved Sora's team from the betrayal of Neo during the Sky Labyrinth round marched proudly into the stadium; Natsu raised his fist into the air with confidence. But that confidence was quickly shaken when the audience broke out in collective boos, shouting insulting remarks, and other comments that shall remain censored for our younger readers.

"What the hell?" yelped Natsu.

"I didn't see that coming," said Gray.

"I wanna go home now," said Lucy timidly.

" **Who would have thought they'd make it this far after losing every year,"** said Chapati Lola. " **Securing a spot in the prelims was no small feat for them. Will the Tenrou Team's sensational return help Fairy Tail secure first place?** "

" **Statistically speaking, the odds are against them compared to the rest of the team,** " said Nio, taking another bit of melon bread. " **But Fairy Tail's missing members statistical records were written over seven years ago, so they might surprise us this year.** "

" **Next up is the team that came in fifth place in the prelims,** " announced Chapati Lola as Sora and his teammates marched onto the field to the cheer of the crowd, as opposed to Fairy Tail's reception. " **They suffered a major blow when one of their team members suddenly betrayed them and left them short a member to qualify. But it looks like they found a new member and are ready to prove themselves in the Games. Sora, Sun Wukong, Penny Polendina, and Velvet Scarlatina of Team Sora!** "

"Team Sora?" said Sun incredulously. "Seriously? Egotistical much?"

"There wasn't a color that could be made from our initials like on your world," said Sora, crossing his arms and turning up his nose. "Besides, I'm the leader. If the team is gonna be named after anyone, it should be me."

"Who said you were leader?" snapped Sun, ruffling the boy's hair roughly. "I'm older than you, so I should be leader."

"Well, I outrank all of you, so I should be leader," said Penny pointedly.

"I'm the one with the mot world experience," said Velvet, pushing up her glasses. "Obviously, I would make a better leader."

" **Looks like the members of Team Sora are having trouble deciding the chain of command,** " said Miho.

" **Hundred yen says the kid with the hair spikes punches the monkey,** " said Nio. Sora threw a right hook across Sun's face. " **Totally called it!** "

" **Well, they better sort out their problems soon, because here comes the next team,** " said Chapati Lola as group of child-sized girls with animal ears walked onto the field waving their arms eccentrically. " **Coming in fourth place is a group of the most adorable little ladies you will ever see competing in the Grand Magic Games. They may look like children, but don't let their appearances deceive you; they are the actual Gods of the Chinese Zodiac. Nya-Tan, Uri-Tan, Ki-Tan, and Inu-Tan of Team Eto!"**

"We're taking home the gold this year!" shouted Nya-Tan confidently, which shifted into a malevolently evil grin. "And then the producers will have to renew us for a second season."

"I keep telling you that's not gonna work, Nya-Tan," aid Uri-Tan with a sweat-drop.

" **And coming in third place is another team of lovely ladies from an unknown land called Vacuo** ," said Chapati Lola as four woman (Sun and Velvet quickly identified them as Huntresses) marched into the arena " **This team of mismatched characters might not look like they work well together, their efforts in the preliminaries have proven that these ladies are a well-oiled machine. Stella Stratos, Honey Malaya, Domino Bones, and Olive Evergreen of Team SHDO!** "

"Pay close attention, because we're about to make history!" Stella shouted to the audience.

"Seriously?" said Honey with her hands on her hips. "Everythin' has ta be 'bout history with y'all."

"I think it's adorable," said Olive, smiling.

"You're only saying that because she's your wife," said Domino smugly.

" **Arriving in second place is a seasoned favorite by fans both old and new,** " said Chapati Lola as Jaune led his team into the open to the nearly deafening cheers of their fans. " **They have a history as one of the oldest and strongest teams out there, pushing through the preliminary rounds in record breaking time, not to mention leaving a trail of broken bodies in their wake** " – Nora smiled maniacally and gave a thumbs up – " **Jaune Arc, Nora Valykrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren of Tea JNPR!** "

"What the – Oh my Oum, Pyrrha!" yelped Stella when Team JNPR joined them. "You're okay! How're you even here?"

"What do you mean?" asked Pyrrha curiously.

"Last we heard, you had di – " Stella started, but then Nora jumped between them.

"Nope! Never happened!" said Nora vehemently.

"What do you mean it didn't happen?" asked Stella, looking at the woman strangely. "We all saw – "

"Nope!" Nora adamantly denied. "Everything is _fine_! Pyrrha is _fine_! Nothing bad happened" – she got in close to Stella's face, staring her down with creepy wide eyes – " _ **Eveeer!**_ "

Nora pulled back and joined a team with a sweet smile on her face. The other four teams, as well as the commentators and the audience all went deathly silent; not even the crickets dared to chirp. Ren coughed awkwardly in his fist.

"So…shouldn't you announce the last team?" Ren said to the commentator's box.

" **Oh, right** ," sputtered Chapati Lola. " **Well, last, but certainly not least, is the team that came in first place in the preliminaries.** " – If the applause for JNPR had been grand, it was nothing compared to the waves of jubilant screams that was given for them – " **That's right. You know them. You love them. Now get on your feet and scream for the most powerful Guild in all of Fiore. Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Chaney, Yukino Agria, and Neopolitan of Sabertooth!** "

"What?" shouted Sora in shock.

"Did he just say Neo?" said Sun, equally surprised.

Indeed, the first person that came out of the tunnel following the team's introduction was the tricolored hair and heterochromia eyes of Neo, smiling in a mocking fashion at Sora's team as she twirled her parasol over her shoulder. The man that followed shortly after her with his fist raised in predetermined victory was a tall, spiky-haired blonde with muscles on top of his muscles, even going as far as showing off his rock hard abs similar to Sun (the monkey Faunus did not look pleased). Coming up behind the blonde was a gloomy-looking man with greasy lack hair draped over the right side of his face concealing himself in a dark cape. The last in the lineup was a young woman slightly shorter than her male teammates but taller than Neo with short, light-blue hair decorated with an ornate blue rose and dressed in a feathery white cloak.

Despite the audiences general love for the Sabertooth team, then was a lot of heated glares directed at the champions by the other contestants. Team Sora and Team JNPR were glaring at Neo, many of them recounting the number of atrocities she had committed with Torchwick in their heads; Jaune's fist had tightened to the point where he threatened to draw blood. Natsu was gnashing his pointed teeth andleering at the two men of Sabertooth for reasons Sora didn't understand. Even Taiyang, sitting in the front row of the stands, was having difficulty holding back his anger as his hand closed over the barrier, cracking the stone.

"Whatever you do, kid," Taiyang muttered to himself. "Don't lose to that witch."

Meanwhile, back in the arena…

"I can't believe Neo's with Sabertooth," said Sora irritably.

"It makes sense," said Penny in a restricted voice. "Torchwick is in control of Sabertooth, so it's only logical that his right hand would be in their guild. We could try to argue for her to be disqualified since she used to be a part of our team, but Torchwick is a shady business man that would no doubt push his influence to have the whole thing swept under the rug."

"So we can't do anything about it?" asked Velvet in concern.

"Afraid not," Penny sighed in defeat. "The best thing we can do is beat them in the Games."

"Hah! Good luck with that!" shouted the blonde man, Sting Eucliffe, from across the field. "You puny weaklings got nothing on us! We're gonna beat your butts so bad, you'll run home crying to your mommies! Then again, your parents must already be ashamed having to get stuck with a sorry bunch like you!"

"What'd you say?" growled Sora.

"Easy there, Kid," said Sun, pulling his partner back. "He's just trying to rile you up. You can put him in his place during the Games.

" **All in all, we have a lot of impressive teams here,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Any comments on our lineup, Miss Hashiri?** "

" **Everyone is expecting Sabertooth to come in first like they do every year,** " said Nio, leaning back in her seat and taking another bite. " **But from my experience being surrounded by master assassins, it's always the people you least expect that'll slit your throat when your back is turned. I'm predicting Fairy Tail is going show us a good show, and I might be a little partial to Team SHDO, only because they have a sniper on their team. Team JNPR will put up a good fight, but I have some doubts about Team Sora – they look like a group that was slapped together without much thought. Don't really have anything to say about Team Eto.** "

"Hey!" yelled Nya-Tan.

" **Thank you for that commentary, Miss Hashiri,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Well, I think we've kept everyone waiting long enough. It's about time we unveil the official schedule for this year's tournament!** "

The ground shuddered underneath the contestant's feet, causing many to nearly lose balance, when a large slab of stone erupted from the center of the arena for everyone to see. Everyone had to tilt their heads back to get a good look at the register. It looked like the competition had been separated into five separate events and most of the space was just filled with question marks. The only thing they could tell was that the first three days would have battle rounds, the fourth day would have a tag battle, and that the name of the first event was called 'Hidden'.

"Looks lie there's gonna be a lot of action in the next few days," said Gray.

"That's fine by me," said Honey.

" **Each one of the rounds will begin with a contest,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Participants will then be ranked from first to sixth place. Teams will be awarded points depending on how they rank in the contest: ten points for first, eight points for second, six points for third, four points for fourth, two points for fifth, and zero points for coming dead last. Additionally, the teams are allowed to select which of their members they want to compete. After that, we have battles. These bouts should come as quite a treat to all you loyal fans since it was your suggestions that created these matchups.** "

"So the fans are the ones who are supposed to decide who fights who," summarized Sun.

"Actually, it was supposed to be the readers," said Nya-Tan, "but they didn't bother reading the whole end notice in the last chapter so the author had to make something up instead."

"What is she talking about?" asked Sora strangely.

"Just back away slowly and don't look her in the eye," said Sun.

" **The battle rules are simple,** " continued Chapati Lola. " **Two square off until one of them is defeated or time run out. Winning teams will be awarded ten points while the losing teams will get jack squat. In the event that the match ends in a draw, both teams will be awarded five points.** **Does everyone understand the rules? Well, you better, because we're going to jump right into the day's first event called Hidden. At this time, we would like each team to choose who will be competing. Once the selection is made, the rules will be explained in their entirety.** "

"The first event sounds like it involves hiding," said Velvet thoughtfully. "So we should sent someone that knows how to sneak around."

"Leave that to me," said Sun with a confident smirk. "I used to sneak on ships, trains, and planes without getting caught. This'll be a breeze."

" **The first contestant has stepped forward,** " said Chapati Lola. " **It's Sun Wukong from Team Sora.** "

"Let me at 'em!" growled Inu-Tan playfully. "I'm the best when it comes to hide and seek!"

"Good luck, Inu-Tan," said Uri-Tan, waving her friend off.

" **From Team Eto, it's the adorable Inu-Tan!** " shouted Chapati Lola, sounding _waaay_ too excited.

"When it comes to hiding, no one can escape Domino's eyes," said Stella confidently.

"I'll nab this victory in one shot," said Domino, striding over to join the gathering group; everyone's eyes were locked on her swaying hips.

" **Coming in from Team SHDO, it's the femme fatale Domino Bones,** " said Chapati Lola.

"If the game is hidden, then I would be the best to go," said Rogue Chaney.

"Show those losers why Sabertooth is the strongest," said Sting, chuckling snidely.

" **Keep your eyes on this one, folks!** " said Chapati Lola, having to shout over the crowd's wild cheers. " **It's the Shadow Dragon of Team Sabertooth, Rogue Chaney!** "

"I can't believe they're going nuts over the gloomy guy!" growled Natsu in annoyance. "I don't get it!"

"If only Wendy or Romeo were here," said Lucy, "they'd probably be perfect for this match."

"We need to turn the Games in our favor from the start," said Gray. "I've got this one. Just leave everything to me."

" **From Fairy Tail, it's Gray Fullbuster,** " said Chapati Lola; there were no cheers to be heard.

"What're you thinking, Jaune," asked Pyrrha, gently resting a hand on his arm.

"Hmm…the other teams probably have the right idea about the match being about stealth and guile," said Jaune thoughtfully. "If that's the case, then Ren is our best hope. We're counting on you, pal."

"All right," said Ren, removing his glasses and tucking them in his pocket. "I won't fail you."

" **And last, but certainly not least, it's Lie Ren from Team JNPR!** " said Chapati Lola. " **The competitors have been chosen and the long wait is finally over. Grab a refreshment and get glued to your seats, because you're not gonna want to miss a single nail-biting moment of 'Hidden'.** "

" **But first, we need to go to a commercial break,** " said Nio, causing the crowd to whine and groan. " **But when we come back, Minister of Defense Nishizumi and the Ooarai girl be performing their world famous Anglerfish Dance!** "

" **EEEEEEEH?!** " squeaked Miho.

* * *

 **I know I said this chapter to be the start of the competition, but I wanted to dedicate an entire chapter to both the event match and the battle rounds, so I cut it into two parts. Next chapter will be the real start and I promise this won't happen again in the future…probably.**

 **Please, read and review.**


	18. Grand Magic Games - Hidden, Part 2

**Chapter Seventeen: Grand Magic Games – Hidden, Part 2**

Everyone was coming back from commercial break and the girls from Ooarai Academy were just finishing up their rendition of the Anglerfish Dance. It was _**the**_ single most embarrassing dance anyone had seen in their lives, added by the fact that the Ooarai girls had to dance in pink latex anglerfish bodysuit. When the music had cut and the Ooarai girls bowed to the cheering crowd, they couldn't run away fast enough ("Now I can never get married!" cried one of the girls).

Up in the commentator's box, Chapati Lola was fixing his hair piece while Nio Hashiri reclined in her seat with her legs propped up on the table, nibbling on melon bread, and Minister of Defense Miho Nishizumi fidgeted in her seat, still wearing the anglerfish suit.

" **Well, that was quite a show, wouldn't you say, Miss Hashiri?** " said Chapati Lola.

" **I recorded it on my yScroll,** " said Nio, grinning in a sinister way. " **So I can watch it again…and again…and again.** "

" **Um…why am I still wearing this?** " asked Miho embarrassingly.

" **We've kept you waiting long enough folk,** " said Chapati Lola. " **And we won't keep you waiting any longer. Let's begin the first event of the Grand Magic Games –Hidden!** "

" **Can I change first?** " asked Miho frantically.

" **For those of you just tuning in,** " said Nio, " **first off, get off your lazy asses and make it on time. Secondly, here's the lineup for the contests in this match: From Team Sora, it's the monkey boy named after the Journey to the West, Sun Wukong. Next is the little doggy from Team Eto, Inu-Tan. Then there's my personal favorite, the sharpshooting assassin Domino Bones from Team SHDO. After that is the emo of Team Sabertooth, the Shadow Dragon Rogue Chaney. Fairy Tail's ice wizard Gray Fullbuster is taking the charge in this event. And finally, the mysterious Lie Ren from Team JNPR. That about cover it, Chapi?** "

" **It's Chapati,** " said Chapati dryly. " **And yes, that should about recap the events so far, so let's not waste any more time! Mato, would you please?** "

"Most certainly!" shouted Mato cheerfully as the pumpkin-headed mascot suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Will each team's participant in the Hidden game kindly step forward?"

"Good luck, Sun," said Velvet optimistically.

"I don't need luck," said Sun confidently. "There's no one that's gonna be able to catch me in a game of hide and seek."

"You think so, do you?" said Domino, walking past the monkey Faunus with a spring in her step. "Don't go crying if you suddenly find yourself in last place."

" **There are two questions on everyone's minds,** " said Chapati Lola. " **First and foremost, what kind of game will Hidden be? And who would you say is the favorite in this mysterious competition?** "

" **Hmm…Rogue certainly has the edge in the hiding department,** " said Nio, humming thoughtfully. " **But given Domino's semblance, it'd be difficult for even the Shadow Dragon to be able to hide from her. It might be biased, but I'm totally going for Domino.** "

" **I think Lie Ren has a good shot at this,** " said Miho. " **His record doesn't say a lot, but there an air around him that seems like he knows what he's doing. And Inu-Tan is a Goddess, so that should be considered as a factor.** "

" **So what about Team Fairy Tail and Team Sora?** " asked Chapati Lola.

" **What about them?** " Nio retorted.

"HEY!" shouted Sora and Natsu together.

Meanwhile, the six contestants were gathered in a small circle in the center of the arena surrounding Mato.

"Hey, Ren, just cause we're friends, it doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you," said Sun, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

"I would be insulted if you did," said Ren with a soft smile.

"Aw, aren't you two so sweet," said Domino in half-mocking, half teasing voice, pointing her finger like a gun. "But if either of you step into my line of sight, you know I'm gonna pull the trigger. Bang. Dead as a doornail."

"She's not really gonna kill us, is she?" Inu-tan asked Rogue nervously.

"There are safety measures in place so that no one in the Games really gets hurt," said Rogue, kneeling next to the dog goddess. Inu-Tan and many others were surprised when the gloomy wizard started petting the goddess's head and smiled softly. "I can't say the same for the others, but I promise I wouldn't hurt you."

"Wow, you're nicer than I thought you'd be," said Inu-Tan, wagging her tail happily.

"That's a shocker, considering you're in a lowlife thug group like Sabertooth," Gray said harshly to Rogue.

"I wouldn't expect worthless trash from Fairy Tail to understand how a proper guild works," Rogue retorted savagely.

"What did you say?" growled Gray, taking a step towards the Shadow Dragon.

"Whoa, easy, guys," said Sun quickly, jumping between the two and pushing them away. "Save the fighting for the competition."

" **Sounds like our competitors are getting antsy,** " said Nio with a chuckle. " **Hey, Mato, start the Game before they tear down the stadium!** "

"Ooh, that would be bad," said Mato. "All right then, open the field!"

Dozens of lights stretched into various shapes and sizes appeared in the center of the area before steadily climbing skyward. It was like a 3-D printer go to work – as the lights climbed higher, cobblestone roads, brick buildings, and other miscellaneous objects started to form around the competitors. In nearly no time at all, an entire town had taken shape in the coliseum. From their place in one of the competitor's boxes, Sora and Velvet were leaning over the railing with their eyes wide and their mouths turned O-shaped and Penny was holding them back from falling over.

"It's just like your weapon, Velvet," said Sora in amazement.

"Yeah, but this is on a way bigger scale than what I can do," said Velvet in astonishment.

Back in the arena, Sun looked around the street equally surprised and astounded; it looked like he had been dropped off in some market street based on stands lining the both sides. When the monkey Faunus did a double take, he realized that he was all alone. That was impossible – Sun knew he was standing right between Gray and Rogue just seconds ago.

"Whatever made this town must have thrown us into different points of the town," said Sun. He climbed a lamppost – it was thankfully solid – turned on the top with his eyes peeled on every corner. "Well, the Game is called hidden, but this is a lot bigger than I was expecting."

Sun had been correct in assuming that everyone had been split off. Ren was coming out of a flower boutique, taking a moment to inspect the buds and realize they were real. Rogue Chaney was clinging to the shadows of the dark alleys; a black mist was rolling off his shoulders. Inu-Tan was padding around the fountain square crouched on all-fours sniffing the ground like the animal she represented. Domino was standing underneath the tallest building in the fake town, leaning her head back to stare up at the top, and smirked confidently. And Gray was rooted in the middle of the street, apparently at a loss of what to do.

" **Now that the field is set, let's explain the rules of the Game,** " said Chapati Lola; all the contests perked in attention. " **To summarize this event, it's a high stakes game of hide and seek, only the players will be both hiding and seeking at the same time.** "

"What does that mean?" asked Sora; Penny and Velvet only shrugged their shoulders.

" **The main objective of Hidden is to locate the other players,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Once you've done that, you'll have to land an attack on them. The player that successfully connects their attack, whether or not it does any damage, will then be awarded one point while the player who receives the attack loses a point. Players may also lose a point if they attack the wrong person.** "

"Wrong person?" said Ren suspiciously. "I thought the goal was to hit as many of the players as possible. So how can you hit the wrong person?"

As if responding to Ren's question, the same light that constructed the town formed on the streets as a million white dots. The lights climbed and faded like they had done before, this time leaving behind hundreds upon hundreds of duplicates of each of the contestants competing in the Game. Dozens of Suns were climbing along the walls while several more Inu-Tans were trotting the streets; many Rogues were marching gloomy as several Dominos were shaking their hips enticingly; all the Grays were glaring in some direction and the Rens silently walked with the flow of the crowd. And amidst the sea of clones, the real players were smartly keeping their heads down – they were starting to get a good idea how the Game worked even before the commentators explained the rest.

"Holy cow, so many Sun!" yelped Sora.

"How're they supposed to find each other?" said Penny, blinking animatedly. "I've worked with Sun in the army for ten years and even I can't tell which one is real."

"The committee must have had something in mind when they made this," said Velvet. "They wouldn't have made a Game that's impossible to win – they'd be too boring."

" **I know they're pretty, but those copies aren't just for show, folks,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Attack one of your fake competitors by mistake and it'll cost you one point. You're going to need to be clever if you want to figure out which one is the real deal. You can take as much time as you need, but the clock is ticking. You have thirty minutes and, of course, whoever has the most points at the end takes first place. So with that being said, it's time to disappear like a black cat in a dark alleyway. Fade into your surroundings and hide in plain sight. Let this first Game – Hidden – begin!** "

A gong went off above the stadium and all the contestants knew the Game had begun.

"This Game isn't so much about hiding as it is seeking," said Gray, casting a suspicious glare at the clones. "Gonna be tough finding the real enemies though."

At the same time, Inu-Tan climbs one of the carts on the street and take several sniffs of the air, seemingly caught someone's scent, and rushed after it. Rogue was still hiding among the shadows of the alleys, though he was joined by several of his doppelgangers, making it that much easier for him to blend. Ren was walking along with the rest of the crowd, trying not to look to look around too much or else it would draw suspicion. What neither he nor Gray seemed to realize is that they passed one another on the same street without even a sideways glance at each other. Meanwhile, hundreds of Dominos were wandering the street, opening flirting with the other doppelgangers, but not even the committee seemed to know where the real one was – she had vanished. And Sun was jumping from lamppost to lamppost – he had to stop and wait until the other Suns were done using them every so often.

"I can't believe this," said Sun with a groan. "Finding the real people in here is going to be impossi – "

 _ **BANG!**_

The gunshot rang out so loud that the entire stadium could hear it; Sun felt a sharp prick in the base of his spine. The monkey Faunus fell forward, but before he could hit the ground, a bright light consumed him and transported him to another part of the town.

"What just happened?" said Sora shockingly. "Where'd that come from?"

"Sounded like a sniper rifle," said Velvet. "It must have been Domino. Logically speaking, a sniper would roost at the highest point of the terrain to get a better vantage of the field, which means Domino must…be…hiding…there!"

The rabbit-eared photographer was pointing to the clock tower that was located near the center of the town, giving anyone a perfect view of the town from all sides; the ultimate sniper nest. Sora narrowed his eyes and focused on the spot until he saw the muzzle of Domino Bone's rifle just moments before it fired off again. The gunshot rang its warning and the arena buzzed again to signify that another contestant had been hit; it had been Gray Fullbuster this time.

The blind sniper discarded the empty shell, pulled back the level to reload, and raised her rifle to her visor-covered eyes. It was a pointless gesture considering she was blind, but it was a habit that she had become accustomed to. To Domino Bones, the world was just an endless void of black, but there were times when she could see waves of sounds in the form of white ripples. When the sound wave hit something of interest, the object formed a colored blob in her mind. She saw a familiar golden blob in her vision, aimed her rifle in its direction, took a deep breath to steady herself, and pulled the trigger. Another gunshot, another buzzer, another successful kill; Domino licked her lips enticingly.

" **And Sun Wukong is once again shot down by Domino Bones** ," said Chapatai Lola. " **We're only five minutes into the Game and already Domino from Team SHDO is pulling ahead with three points while Gray of Team Fairy Tail falls behind with negative one point and Sun from Team Sora with Negative two points. Miss Nishizumi, can you explain how Domino has been able to successfully make three shots in as little time. From what I recall, Domino should be blind.** "

" **You are correct: Miss Bones is blind,** " said Miho, pulling up a sheet with Domino's profile. " **But according to her records, Miss Bones has an ability called Vision that allows her to see auras in the form of echo location. From what I researched, aura is something that exists in all living creatures. And since the copies aren't technically alive, they don't give off any aura. So as far as Miss Bones can tell, there are only five other people in the arena with her.** "

" **Some might call that cheating,** " said Nio, grinning amusingly. " **But I'd call that 'playing your strengths'.** "

"Who's next," Domino muttered to herself, reloading her rifle. Through her semblance, she could make out two blobs (brown and blue) walking toward each other from opposite sides just below the clock tower. "Two for one special. Heh, it's like they're trying to make this easy for me. I'll take them both with one shot."

But while the blind sniper distracted herself with lining up the perfect shot to take out Inu-Tan and Gray Fullbuster, she had failed to notice someone had been sneaking into the tower behind her until she heard their feet hit the ground. Domino gasped and spun around, but it was too late. Ren shot her in the chest with Storm Flower, knocking her off the tower and vanishing in a flash of light. Inu-Tan and Gray, who had just about to pass each other unnoticed, looked up when the light flashed above their heads and saw Lie Ren bravely flying over the edge. Before either one of them could react, Ren landed between the two and shot one bullet each to their foreheads; both vanished to another part of town.

"Yeah, Ren! You're the best!" shouted Nora, waving a sign that read: Notice Me, Ren-Senpai! "That's my man right there! We're together-together!"

" **An excellent stealth play by Lie Ren of Team JNPR!** " shouted Chapati Lola enthusiastically. " **This puts Ren ahead by three points while Domino drops to two points, Gray drops to negative two along with Sun Wukong, and Inu-Tan gets negative one point.** "

" **We're reaching eight minutes into the Games and the competition is already starting to heat up** ," said Nio. " **Now that everyone knows Domino's semblance, it looks like they're not bothering to hide anymore. Everyone down there is scrambling to find an opponent. Hey, Nishizumi, how do you think they'll be able to find out whose real and whose not?** "

" **Well, Miss Bones has already covered one possibility** ," said Miho. " **The best method, if possible, is to detect energy. But as I was going through everyone's records, it doesn't seem like anyone else has a similar ability to Miss Bones. They do have other methods of tracking, however, like – hey, looks like Inu-Tan has found someone!** "

Down on the field, Inu-Tan was running along the streets on all-fours at breakneck speed, panting like the animal that she embodied. She was running towards Domino, who had just recently appeared after her termination. The blind sniper pivoted around when she sensed Inu-Tan's aura, separated her rifle into two pistols, and fired shots on the Zodiac God. Inu-Tan hopped into the air to avoid the gunshots and pulled out her weapons from behind her back: a spiked yo-yo. Inu-Tan threw the yo-yo and nailed Domino in the chest, causing her to vanish to another part of town.

Inu-Tan sniffed the air again and did a quick loop with the string of her weapon, causing the yo-yo to spin to the right. Sun was just coming around the corner when Inu-Tan's yo-yo slams into the side of his head and sends him away just like Domino. Inu-Tan sniffs the air again and pulls back on the string, slamming the spiked yo-yo on the ground and dragging it across the street to kick up dust. This seemed to have been done intentionally as Ren, who was hiding in one of the buildings, couldn't see anything out the window. The Huntsman quickly rolled to the side when he realized Inu-Tan was flying straight at him and kicked through the window. Ren drew up Storm Flower as Inu-Tan pulled back her yo-yo.

"How'd you know I was here?" asked Ren curiously.

"There ain't anybody that my nose can't sniff out," said Inu-Tan proudly.

For the next twenty minutes, the Game of 'Hidden' quickly descended into a chaotic free-for-all where it came down to who would find who first. Each of the players had their own methods of finding their enemies. Domino's echolocation served her well in hunting down the other players while ignoring the doppelgangers, but made sure not to stick around one place for too long so as not to have another repeat with Ren. Speaking of the Huntsman, it was unknown how he managed to track people down – Velvet chalked it up to natural instinct – but Ren was gunning down every opponent he came across before they even realized where he was. And Inu-Tan's nose was just as effective as Domino's eyes, able to sniff out the real player out of the clones and slam them with her yo-yo to earn her another point. Gray, Rogue, and Sun were the only ones who were not showing any effective strategy to winning.

The scores were constantly moving up and down the board as more and more players started finding each other. The most anyone had been able to reach was five points with Ren and Domino Bones constantly fighting for the lead, though there was one consistency to the Game that looked very grim for Team Sora. No matter how hard he tried, Sun just couldn't move out of the negative numbers. The frustration of losing was starting to get to him; Sun started making careless mistakes in hitting the wrong targets and made himself stand out more to make it easy for the other players to catch. His numbers just kept getting lower and lower.

And then, after the game had reached the five minute mark, something strange happened throughout town. The players were walking along searching for their opponents when they would notice tiny puffs of white powder falling from the sky. All across the false town, everyone looked towards the sky when the suddenly realized a harsh snowfall was starting to cover the area.

" **Well, would you look at this,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Our city is turning into a winter wonderland.** "

" **Not as fun as Deadman Wonderland,** " said Nio casually.

" **This can only be the work of Gray Fullbuster,** " said Miho. " **I wonder what he has planned**."

The ice wizard from Fairy Tail was situated at the fountain plaza – all the water had been frozen in his presence – as he closed his hand and stopped the blizzard that was spraying from his palm.

"A little something I learned from my trainings days," said Gray. "When people are affected by the cold, their bodies shake trying to warm themselves from the inside and their breaths appear as white puffs. But since the copies aren't real people, they can't be affected by the cold, meaning I have a pretty good idea of who's who – " He pounded his fist into his palm, gathering his energy – " **Ice-Make: Lance!** "

Gray threw his hands forward and more than a dozen spears burst from the magic circle that appeared. The frozen spears seemed to be guided by the ice wizard's thought as they curved around the corners of the buildings and slipped through the clones without touching them. It didn't take long before they reached their targets: the spears stabbed Ren and Inu-Tan through the window, one caught Domino while she grappled to another building, and another caught Sun hiding behind a water barrel. None of them found Rogue, though.

" **And Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail takes a flurry of points,** " said Chapati Lola.

" **That was a Xiao-Long worthy pun** ," Nio grimaced.

Gray pumped his fist in celebration…just before Rogue appeared from behind and backfisted him across the head, sending him to another part of the town.

" **And Rogue Chaney finally makes his debut on the field with a sneaky hit from behind,** " said Chapati Lola.

"That was a pretty underhanded shot," glowered Gray.

"Do whatever it takes to come out ahead," said Rogue coldly, slamming his fist into the street. "That's what separates Sabertooth from the weaklings. **Shadow Dragon: Threading Needle!** "

The shadow underneath the Dragon Slayer spread out in all directions, thinning as they got further away from the source until they were the width of thread. The shadows crawled through the streets and along the walls stretching toward every corner of the town. One of the threads stopped when it connected with Domino Bone's shadows on market street, then created a spike of darkness that jutted upwards and stabbed the blind sniper in the back, sending her away to another part of the city. Similar occurrences happened with Ren, Inu-Tan, and Sun – all of them were struck by their own shadows and temporarily out of play.

" **And the hits just keep on coming!** " said Chapati Lola. " **In one deciding blow, Rogue Chaney has completely taken first place! This is what you would expect from a member of Fiore's most powerful guild! And with only thirty seconds left in the Game, it looks like Sabertooth has won this match!** "

"This event wasn't even the least bit challenging," said Rogue in a condescending tone. "No matter how hard they searched, they could never find me. And when they found me, they could do nothing but fall into the depths of my shadow. There was never any doubt who would – "

 _ **BANG!**_

The audience gasped as the gunshot rang out and Rogue Chaney fell forward onto the street just seconds before the final bell rang across the town. From the opposite end of the street, Domino lowered her smoking rifle, panting heavy from the fatigue that she had built up throughout the event.

"You talk too much, asshole," said Domino before exhaustion finally kicked in and she fell unconscious on the street.

" **Unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen!** " shouted Chapati Lola fanatically. " **At the very last second, Domino Bones from Team SHDO managed to score a single point off Rogue Chaney, dropping him down by one point and put herself in the lead! I can tell that Sabertooth fans aren't going to be too happy about that!** "

" **Well, they're going to have to get over it because the game is over,** " said Nio. The false town dissolved and left behind the tired and semi-unconscious players flopped all over the arena ground. " **Let's take a look at the score board, shall we? Taking that shot at the last second put Domino Bones in first place, and while Ren and Rogue were both in second place, the judges have decided to tally the number of collective points both players have taken throughout the game, putting Ren in second and Rogue in third. Then there's Gray Fullbuster in fourth, Inu-Tan in fifth, and Sun Wukong in dead last with an embarrassingly total of negative six points. Ouch, that's gonna hurt a man's pride.** "

" **And here are the total points awarded to all teams,** " said Miho as the holographic screens displayed the results.

 **Team SHDO – 10pts  
Team JNPR – 8pts  
Team Sabertooth – 6pts  
Team Fairy Tail – 4pts  
Team Eto – 2 pts  
Team Sora – 0pts**

Fans that had once been cheering for Sabertooth were now shouting words of praise towards Domino as she was carried out of the arena by a medical team and for Ren, who was walking at a limp but seemed all right. Rogue stalked silently to the tunnel without a passing glance at the others, but the irritation was obvious in his glare. Inu-Tan was crawling on all-fours, panting like…well, you get the idea. And though he only came in fourth, Gray seemed a little uplifted know that the crowds weren't jeering at him. Instead, all of the insults and mocking laughter was being directed toward Sun. The monkey Faunus changed his head, his wild fringe shadowing his eyes, and he marched mechanically to the tunnels. This was a heavy blow for Sun, not only for losing the game, but as a testament to his skill – or lack of, as the case may be.

Sora watched her partner disappear into the tunnel. He started walking out to find him, but Penny quickly grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Leave him alone, Sora," said Penny evenly.

"But he – " Sora started.

"I understand that you want to comfort him," said Penny. "But there are times when a person just wants to be alone."

Sora looked like he wanted to argue against it, but he thought better of it. As much as he wanted to see if Sun was feeling all right, he knew from personal experience that sometimes being comforted can only make a person feel worse – Sora felt that feeling dozens of times when he lost to Riku.

" **Coming up next I the battle part of the contest,** " said Chapati Lola. " **We just received the line-up and they promise to be some spectacular matches. Our very first match of this year's Grand Magic Games is…**

* * *

 **STING EUCLIFFE vs. KI-TAN**

The crowd was in an uproar the moment Sting Eucliffe's name reverberated throughout the coliseum. The blonde that looked and sounded eerily similar to Sun from Sabertooth marched out onto the field with both fists raised to the sky, letting out an almost conceited cackle. From across the stadium, the blonde-haired monkey goddess of the Zodiac bounced out from the tunnel, twirling a glossy red staff with golden hand on each end, one of them palm open and the other clenched into a fist. She also looked similar to Sun in many ways – it was kinda creepy in Sora's opinion.

" **It's time to get underway with the battle portion of the Grand Magic Games,** " said Chapati Lola. " **I can tell that you're all excited to see who will be going against who, so let's not wait any longer. From Team Eto, it's the mischievous monkey goddess, Ki-Tan! And from Team Sabertooth, the White Dragon of Fiore's most powerful guild, Sting Eucliffe!** " – a second, more powerful wave of cheers burst from the stands – " **Just listen to the crowd. He's incredibly popular.** "

"Don't screw this up, Ki-Tan!" shouted Nya-Tan. "Our second season is on the line here!"

"I keep telling you that's not how it works," said Uri-Tan, sweat dropping.

"So who you think's gonna win," Natsu asked his teammates.

"Sabertooth is the strongest guild in Fiore," said Erza analytically. "But there's something strange about the rest of the teams. I've never heard of any of them before. They just might surprise us."

"Anything is better as long as Sabertooth doesn't win," said Gray critically.

" **Let the first match begin!** " yelled Chaptai Lola as the gong rang, signaling the start of the match.

"I'll end this in one shot!" shouted Sting.

The White Dragon of Sabertooth threw out his hand and summoned forth a ball of white light in his palm that exploded into a wide laser flying toward Ki-Tan. The monkey Zodiac flipped into the air, just barely missing the laser. With a smirk, Sting shifted his hand and the white laser redirected itself into a U-turn, targeting the tiny goddess's back. Ki-Tan looked over her shoulder when she noticed the laser headed her way, turned around in midair, and jabbed the open-handed end of her staff to collide with the Dragon Slayer's laser. The look on everyone's faces – including said Dragon Slayer – was a mixture of shock and amazement; the palm of Ki-Tan's staff closed around the energy and condensed it into a tiny white ball.

Ki-Tan landed with her back turned to Sting, but quickly pivoted on her heel and swung her staff around like a baseball bat. In the middle of the swing, the hand opened again and white energy ball shot back at its creator. Sting jumped out of the way in time as the laser orb hit the ground where he had been standing previously, which exploded outward the moment it touched ground. With a grimace, Sting looked away from the explosion back to Ki-Tan; the White Dragon Slayer was sucker punched by a golden fist to the side of his face. Ki-Tan's staff had extended to an impossible length across the arena and nailed the Dragon Slayer with the fist-side of her staff. The monkey zodiac recalled her staff to its normal length; Sting had a small bruise on his left cheek, but nothing too damaging.

" **And it's Ki-tan that's delivered the first blow to Sabertooth's Sting,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Guess Sting is getting more than he expected out of his opponent.** "

" **For all their bluster,** " said Nio mockingly," **doesn't seem like Sabertooth is really living up to their reputation.** "

" **Well, his opponent is technically an immortal goddess,** " said Miho. " **I'm sure anyone would have a difficult time fighting that.** "

" **Personally, I just think – OOH!** " said Nio with an outrageous laugh as the coliseum took a large intake of breath. " **Oh my god! Ki-Tan just gave Sting an atomic wedgie! That's one for the history books, ladies and gentlemen! HAHAHA!** "

Sting walked slightly bowlegged as he readjusted his pants, tears threatening to breach the corners of his eyes while her glared at the monkey girl across the field. At this point, Ki-Tan was just showing off; she hanged herself upside-down on two fingers, clapping her feet together with a wide smile on her face and her staff being twirled by her tail. Sting gritted his teeth so hard that they threatened to break. The cheers that had he been reserved for Sting was starting to shift in favor of Ki-Tan. This was outrageous! Sabertooth was the strongest guild in all of Fiore! They should be cheering for him, not some dancing monkey!

Sting clenched his fists and enveloped them in a white glow, charging headlong at the zodiac goddess. He threw a right hook at Ki-Tan, but the monkey girl flipped back on her feet and bended backwards far enough to dodge before her tail swiped up and slapped him across the face with her staff. The blow caused Sting to spin around; he gritted his teeth again and flipped around again with a sweeping kick. Ki-Tan effortlessly jumped over the leg, flipped in the air, used the top of Sting's head as a kickoff point, landed behind the Dragon Slayer, and gave him a kick in the butt that threw him face first into the dirt.

The White Dragon of Sabertooth could hear them in the stands – they were laughing at him! Him! Sting Eucliffe, the most powerful wizard in all of Sabertooth, the most powerful guild in Fiore! He was the best there ever was! The White Dragon growled dangerously, slamming his fist into the ground as he slowly stood up, turning to Ki-Tan with an ugly snarl. The monkey goddess took a step back, easily intimidated by the Dragon Slayer's glare.

Before anyone could so much as blink, Sting suddenly crossed the arena in a white blur of light and grappled Ki-Tan by the face before slamming her down into the ground hard enough to leave an impression and held her there. Ki-Tan struggle underneath Sting's grip and raised her staff to her defense, but the White Dragon Slayer slapped the weapon out of her hand and flung it away. Sting started to open his mouth as a white light started to appear in the back of his throat. And then he cried out:

" **White Dragon's Roar!** "

The coliseum was consumed in a blinding vision of white light that forced everyone to look away and shield their eyes; they couldn't see what was happening down in the arena, but they could feel the ground shaking beneath them. Even up in the commentator's box, Defense Minister Nishizumi was clenching the desk with all her might while Chapati Lola's hairpiece was sent flying to parts unknown; Nio just watched like nothing was happening. After a painfully long and suspenseful minute, the round stopped shaking and the white light faded into natural sunlight. Everyone was rubbing their eyes to remove the spots from their vision and looked down in the arena, many of them gasping in horror when they saw.

Sting was standing alone near the edge of the ring, looking down at the large gaping hole that he had created. The hole was empty, but those who looked close enough could see the specks of yellow dust floating away before disappearing into the sky. The crowd was unnaturally silent; several women were covered their mouths while mothers and fathers were covering their children's eyes, though it seemed like a pointless effort.

" **Did we just…. Did Sting just….?** " Stammered Miho, looking just as shocked as everyone else. " **Is Ki-Tan…dead?** "

"She's fine," said Nya-Tan nonchalantly, as if she didn't just see her teammate bite the dust. "Ki-Tan's an Eto-Shin. When an Eto dies, it just takes them a while before they are reincarnated. Uri-Tan dies all the time – it's her running gag."

"Unfortunately, that's true," said Uri-Tan miserably.

" **Oh…well, that I guess that means Sting Eucliffe is the winner,** " said Chapati Lola, only without the enthusiasm. " **So…yeah….** "

" **This does not look like it's gonna be a good year for Sabertooth,** " said Nio.

There were no cheers or applause for Sting as he slowly walked back to the tunnel with a little wobble in his step. Rather than shower him in admiration, they looked like they were afraid of him; afraid that he might suddenly turn their way and blast them from existence. And as Sting was walking away, Sora managed to catch a glimpse of the White Dragon's face. He didn't look like a man who had just won his first match; rather he looked just as terrified as everyone else, almost like he couldn't believe what he had just done.

* * *

 **OLIVE EVERGREEN vs. JAUNE ARC**

After Sting Eucliffe's gruesome display against Ki-Tan, everyone in the coliseum had taken a ten minute break to collect themselves before announcing the next match. It would be the fan favorite, Jaune Arc of Team JNPR going up against the princess of Team SHDO, Olive Evergreen. Speaking from personal experience his first time against Jaune, he knew that Olive would have a difficult time, but that energy shield of hers looked very tough, especially compared to Jaune's ancient-looking blade.

Sora didn't pay much attention to the commentary when Chapati Lola introduced the fighters (which, as Velvet would tell him later, included a hilarious joke from Nio that had the whole stadium cracking up). Sora just wanted the match to start already so he could watch Jaune fight. And as if on command, the gong rang above the coliseum and both Huntsmen flew at each other in the blink of an eye.

Jaune slashed his sword downward for the first attack, but Olive raised her energy shield and redirected the blade sideways while throwing out her free hand for a palm strike to his chest. Jaune raised his own shield to absorb the blow and pushed back, cause Olive to stumble backward awkwardly on her feet. Jaune pressed the attack with a quick stab, but Olive danced around the edge of the sword until she was standing on Jaune's swing and swiped the rim of her energy shield to the back of his head. The blonde knight, however, dropped into a crouch to duck underneath the weapon and spun around with a sweeping leg kick to Olive's knees, making her fall on her back. When the SHDO princess hit the ground, Jaune spun around on his haunches and stabbed his sword over her, but Olive rolled out of the way at the last second and flung herself back to her feet.

The crowd was bursting with excitement – something much needed after the last match – and Sora was in danger of falling over the edge of the viewing box because he was leaning too far forward. Now this was the kind of match that everyone wanted to see: two warriors of equal strength going back-and-forth in an exchange of blows. This was how real Huntsmen fought.

" **It's only day one of the Grand Magic Games and this second battle round already has us on the edge of our seats!** " shouted Chapati Lola enthusiastically. " **It's Team JNPR's Jaune Arc versus Team SHDO's Olive Evergreen.** "

" **It says that Team SHDO and Team JNPR are from roughly the same area,** " said Miho, reading a sheet off the desk. " **And it seems like this isn't the first time that both teams have competed against each other. Last time, Team SHDOs Stella Stratos and Domino Bones were defeated by Team JNPR's Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren in an event called…the Vytal Festival Tournament many years ago. Sounds like they might be friendly rivals.** "

" **That explains the back-and-forth action between Ren and Bones during the Hidden game,** " said Nio. " **Though the fight seems a little one-sided.** "

" **What do you mean?** " asked Miho curiously.

" **Arc is trained in both offensive and defense combat, as proven with his sword and shield combo,** " explained Nio. " **But given that Evergreen's weapon is a shield, it stands to reason that she's only been trained in defensive combat. That's good when you're working with a team, but in a one-on-one fight, you can't do much if you can't fight back.** "

" **Ah, I see your point,** " said Miho, nodding in agreement. " **This type of match-up may prove difficult for Evergreen.** "

"You've certainly come a long way, Mr. Arc," said Olive approvingly. "You're not the same skinny boy hiding behind Miss Nikos that I remember you to be fourteen years ago. Speaking of which, have you two ever gotten together? Everyone always said you'd be the perfect couple."

"Not for lack of trying," said Jaune. "We've been on a sort of on-off relationship, what with the Grimm invasions and the fate of the universe in the balance. What about you? I heard you and Stella finally tied the knot. Congratulations. Sorry if you don't get a wedding gift from us."

"Oh, thank you," said Olive politely. "It was a very small ceremony considering everything that happened with **(author censorship)** and figuring out the **(author censorship** ). But that's a story for another time. Now I do believe we should resume our match – the crowd is starting to get bored."

"The voice of the people," said Jaune, smirking. "Just what you'd expect from – "

Olive grabbed the edge of her energy shield and tossed it toward Jaune like a neon-green disc. The blonde knight ducked underneath the shield and wasted no time charging SHDOs princess now that she was left defenseless. Although…defenseless might not have been the proper word…. Jaune swung at Olive from the right side, but the Huntress shifted into a combative stance with her palms forward and snapped at the blonde knight's right wrist with a sharp palm strike. From his seat in the view box, it looked to Sora like Jaune's arm had seized up for a quick second, giving Olive enough time to leap backward out of his reach. Jaune shortly regained the use of his arm, holding his sword threateningly pointed at Olive, without realizing that Olive's shield was flying toward him until it slammed into the back of his head.

Jaune hit the ground face forward as Olive extended her arm and expertly caught the returning shield with her metal armband. The SHDO princess jumped forward and punched down with her shield, but Jaune turned only his side, narrowly dodging the edge of the aura shield as it buried into the ground. The blonde knight snatched Olive by the wrist, flipped back to his feet, and tossed the huntress over his shoulder before she realized what was happening. Olive caught herself in midair and flipped around, landing safely on her feet and sliding back several feet. She stared down with Jaune across the field, who was smirking with his arms crossed over his chest, pulled back her arm, and swung it around with the intention of throwing her shield. But when she didn't see a flying green disc, Olive looked down and realized…her armband was missing!

She looked back at Jaune, who unfolded his arms at revealed the missing arm hand clutched in his hand. Olive gapped.

"A little trick I learned from watching a thief I once knew," said Jaune.

Jaune then dashed forward and swung his sword at Olive's face, hitting her with the flat side of the blade, and knocking her on the ground with a loud _**crash.**_ Olive groaned, but it didn't look like she was about to get up. The signal bell rang and the crowd jumped up in cheers.

" **And the winner is Jaune Arc of Team JNPR,** " said Chapati Lola. " **This takes away Team SHDOs lead from the event match and shoots Team JNPR up to first place with eighteen points, while Team SHDO had been bumped down the third place with only ten points.** "

" **But depending on how the next match turns out,** " said Miho, " **Team SHDO will be bumped down again if Team Fairy Tail wins their match, or tie for third with Team Sora if they win. Of course, there's still the chance that the round might end in a tie. It just goes to show that anything can happen to turn the tables in the competition.** "

* * *

 **PENNY POLENDINA vs ERZA SCARLET**

" **Today's matches are about to come to a close,** " said Chapati Lola, " **but we still have one more battle.** "

" **The only teams left are Team Sora and Team Fairy Tail,** " said Nio. " **Team Fairy Tail has been Fiore's biggest losers for six years running, but this year Team Sora is sucking more than a vacuum cleaner with their less than Steller performance in the Game. So this match is to decide who the biggest loser is.** "

" **That's means** ," said Miho, sweat-dropping.

" **Okay, folks, are you ready?** " said Chapati Lola. " **The final match of the first day is going to be: the marionette master of Team Sora, Penny Polendina, versus the Fairy Queen of Fairy Tail, the Titania Erza Scarlet!** " – Unexpectedly enough, the crowd suddenly exploded into whooping cheers when Erza's name was announced. " **Sounds like many people still remember the Titania from years ago. She was regarded as the strongest female wizard in all of Fiore seven years ago and has many times been suggested a spot among the Ten Wizard Saints. But Miss Polendina isn't without her own achievements, is she?** "

" **No, she is not** ," said Miho proudly. " **After reviewing Miss Polendina's profile, we have learned that Miss Polendina has served the Atlas military for fourteen years and holds a position of Major and is the sub-head for the Atlas Military research and development. She has been credited for many major victories during her time in the military, including an incident where her troops were ambushed by enemy forces and successfully escaped without losing a single man. As Minister of Defense, I would be proud to serve alongside such an accomplished soldier.** "

As the commentators were going over both fighters' individual accomplishments, Penny stepped out of the tunnel into the arena at the same time as Erza on the opposite end of the coliseum. The concentrated glare of the woman named after her hair color reminded Penny of Winter Schnee – that alone was enough for Penny to take this match seriously. The two women eventually made it to the middle of the field and both stared each other down I momentarily silence.

"I've heard quite lot about you, Major Polendina," said Erza, shifting to a kind smile. "Not only a distinguished soldier, but you also put your life on the line for the sake of your comrades. I am proud to have the chance to fight such an honorable warrior. But make no mistake; I have no intention of losing."

"You have your reasons for wanting to win," said Penny understandably. "Fairy Tail has been at a loss for six years and you'd do anything to bring them back up. But…." – the compartment in her back opened, bringing all twelve of her swords into the open – "I also have friends I want to help, and the best way of doing it is by winning the Grand Magic Games. So I will fight with the intention of defeating you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," said Erza. "If you are to come at me with twelve swords, then it is only fair that I meet you on equal terms. **Requip: Heaven's Wheel!** "

Erza's body was enveloped in a sudden and brief flash of light that caused Penny's optic sensors to crackle momentarily. When the light faded and Penny could see properly again, Erza stood before her a different woman than she had been seconds ago. The Fairy Queen's bloody-red hair was draped over her right eye, held in place by a silver headband decorated with sharp metal wings. Replacing her attire, a small breast plate made from metallic feathers, large heavy plated gauntlets, a long whites skirt decorated with metal plates, heavy plated boots, and a pair of wings formed from the same silver metal plates giving her the impression of an actual fairy. And for her weapons, Penny counted twelve double-edged swords – and equal number to her own Marionette Swords – one in each hand and the other ten floating unsupported in a ring behind her.

"Whoa, that looks scary," said Sora in awe. "Hope Penny's going to be all right."

"All we can do now is trust her," said Velvet, though her voice didn't sound as confident as her words.

" **It looks like our competitors are geared up and ready to go,** " said Chapati Lola. " **So let's not waste any more time. The final match of the first day starts now!** "

Penny didn't even wait for the gong to ring before she charged after Erza with all twelve of her sword floating by her side. Unfortunately, the scarlet-haired wizard also had the same idea and proved to be much faster than the android, already closing the distance between them before Penny could get more than six steps. Penny instinctively folded her swords in front of her into a shield as Erza swiped upwards, flinging Penny into the air.

"Holy crap, she's fast!" screamed Nya-Tan impressively.

"Dance my swords!" shouted Erza.

The Titania threw all twelve of her blade aimed for Penny, coming around from difference directions. As the first sword started to approach from her left side, Penny directed all twelve of her swords in pistol mode to her right side and commanded them to shoot all at once. The recoil from the collective shots pushed Penny out of the way before Erza's sword could connect. Penny used this same tactic again when Erza's swords started coming around from below her, then the left side, then down again, and once more from the right – Penny was putting on an impressive display of aerial maneuverability that was getting the crowd off the seats with excitement.

As Penny dodged the latest of Erza's attacks, she commended five swords to separate from the rest of the group and fly towards Erza. The Titania's first instinct was the call her back swords for defense when she realized that the swords weren't aimed for her, but instead stabbed the ground in a circle around her. While Erza seemed perplexed by this play, Penny spun in a circle in the air and the scarlet-haired wizard suddenly felt an invisible force constricting her midsection, binding her arms to her side. Erza's swords stopped in the air, allowing Penny to land on her feet safely. The android pulled at the air and Erza felt the binding become stronger. He craned her head down and narrowed her eyes on just what was restraining her.

"Wires?" said Erza surprised.

Penny called the remaining seven guns and lined them up in a row in front of her. With a shouted command ("FIRE!"), the pistols sprayed the Titania with a multitude of green laser bullets that Erza was unable to defend herself from.

" **Oh my, it looks like Penny has quickly tangled Erza in her webs,** " said Chapati Lola. " **This looks bad for Team Fairy Tail**."

"C'mon, Erza, don't let her push you around like that!" shouted Natsu furiously.

"Relax, pyro-brain," said Gray calmly, ignoring Natsu evil glare. "Erza's way too tough for something like this to get the best of her."

Despite being bombarded by a seemingly-endless barrage of aura bullets, Erza focused herself and strained against the wires binding her as she swiped her hand in a downward motion. The floating swords that had been at a standstill flipped around and stabbed the air between Erza and Penny, simultaneously blocking the bullets and cutting the wires that restrained her. Erza let out a forcefully grunt as she ripped her arms free, snapping the wires apart. Penny grimaced.

"Rewiring weaponry," said Penny autonomously.

Five unthreaded wires slipped through the opening in her back, slithered across the field, connected to the ends of the swords, and pulled them back toward her. The action was very well timed as Erza wasted no opportunity to close the gap between them and cluster the swords together in front of her into a point. Though Penny called the swords together to form the shield again, the focused point of Erza's attack pierced through the swords and stabbed Penny in the chest – Penny thanked her aura for protecting her or that could have caused some serious damage. The android hit the ground hard and slid backwards by several meters, pulling up the dirt behind her; Erza stood with intense focus, not expecting her attack to end the match.

" **It's pretty obvious why Erza is considered a candidate for the Ten Wizard Saints,** " said Chapati excitedly. " **Looks like the Queen of the Fairies is deserving of her title.** "

"Yeah! Kick her butt, Erza!" cheered Natsu.

"Don't give up, Penny!" Sora encouraged. "I know you can beat her!"

As Erza had been expecting, Penny was getting up to her feet again, but her stance was a little wobbly – perhaps her attack had done more damage than expected.

"Should have known that using force wasn't going to do much against you," Penny said to Erza. "Looks like I'm going to have to change my strategy up a bit."

Penny slowly raised her arms into the air and gathered the twelve swords in a full circle above her head; Erza immediately took a defensive stance, ready for her to strike. But to the surprise of the Titania, Penny did not attack her directly, but instead shot the swords in every direction _away_ from the fight. Each sword buried itself to the hilt in the wall in each of the twelve corners of the coliseum, very far apart from each other. Erza's eyes wandered around to the twelve points, clueless as to what Penny was up to, when she turned her gaze forward and realized that Penny was flying – literally flying – toward her.

At the speed she was moving, Erza could stab the android in the chest and it would be impossible for her to dodge in time. But when the Titania carried out the motion, Penny suddenly spun sideways around the edge of the blade and stopped directly to Erza's right, throwing a heavy right hook to the wizard's face. Erza skidded a ways away, but straightened hers stance quickly as Penny started diving her way again. This time the Titania summoned all twelve swords to her side and had them stab at her position simultaneously, but Penny not only dodged the swords, she expertly performed a double flip over Erza's head before hitting her with a flying back kick. Erza grounded herself, not to be thrown off again, and pivoted on her heel to face the android. She noticed that Penny hadn't even touched the ground before she charged at Erza again and delivered a crushing punch to Erza's exposed abdomen.

The audience let loose with a mixture of shocked gasps and thrilled praise as they watched Erza tumble across the arena floor like a ragdoll. The scarlet-haired woman did pick herself up in short time, but she couldn't move past a kneeling position while one arm was cradling her stomach and her left eye was narrowed in a wince. She watched Penny with a careful eye as the Atlesian Android somehow _floated_ a few inches off the ground. It took a quick glance around the arena again before Erza realized what was really happening and let out a small chuckle.

"Now I get it," said Erza in a praising tone. "When you threw your swords away earlier, I thought you were giving up for a moment. But now I realize that this was done strategically. There are wires connecting you to your swords that that can pull you toward them. Not only does this increase your mobility and striking power, but it also allows you to shift directions at a moment's notice. I am very impressed, major."

"You're not too bad yourself," Penny complimented. "I could never defeat you in a straightforward fight, so I had to rework my thinking. Luckily, I happen to be friends with someone who's a little on the weird side."

"Who do you think she's talking about?" Sora asked Velvet; the Faunus chuckled awkwardly.

Penny started flying toward Erza again. The scarlet-haired wizard threw her swords out and commended her swords to meet the android in the middle, but Penny expertly dodged the blades with great reflexive ability and broke through the line. Once she was up-close with Erza, Penny used a rising uppercut against the woman's chin that strike so hard, the audience could hear her teeth click together. But Erza was determined not to be bested just yet. She grabbed one her swords out of the sky, but Penny's strings pulled her down to duck underneath the sword and deliver another blow to Erza's stomach; the Titania let out a hacking cough. Penny followed up with a backflip and kicked Erza's chin again, sending the scarlet-haired wizard flying backward.

Erza's boots skidded against the ground, but the Titania managed to stand straight as Penny started flying at her again. Erza flung two swords this time – one after the other – but Penny effortlessly slipped her way through the gap between the flipped around so her foot was forward. Erza wielded her last sword and pushed her free hand against the flat side to stave off Penny's kick. The Titania took a swipe at Penny, but the Android pulled herself above the swing and kicked Erza in the chest. Erza was pushed back close to the arena wall armed with only a single sword. The advantage was in Penny's favor. The android pulled herself toward Erza again and the scarlet-haired woman raised her weapon.

"Last one!" shouted Erza, and she threw the sword.

Penny almost casually tilted to the side as the sword flew over her shoulder and charged harder for her final attack on Erza.

And then…she fell….

Before she realized what had happened, Penny suddenly felt the loss of her support, hit the ground face first, and tumbled through the dirt. Erza stepped to the side as Penny passed her and the android hit the wall with her back, coincidentally landing in a sitting position. Penny rubbed her head (a pointless gesture considering she's an android). What could have happened? Why did her strings suddenly give out? Penny tried commanding the strings to pull her away, but she couldn't feel the tug in her back.

The wall that Penny hit just happened to be underneath one of the swords that Penny had thrown earlier and looked up, wondering what the problem could be, when she let out a horrified gasp. Her sword was still buried in the stone, but the wire was dangling limply from the pommel like it had been recently cut. Penny grabbed a handful of the wire coming out of her back and realized that all of them had been cut. But…but that was impossible…how could she…? Then the realization set in as she stared up at Erza, who had recalled one of her sword and held it within inches of Penny's face.

"You planned this," said Penny in a small voice. "Even when I was beating you up, you were planning three steps ahead of me. You threw your swords making it look like you were attacking, but your real aim was to cut the wires without my notice."

"In all honesty, I hadn't expected to cut them," said Erza earnestly. "They are so thin that they were nearly invisible to my eye. I merely got lucky. Now – " she pressed the sword a little closer – "do you submit, or do we continue our battle?"

"I…," said Penny softly, hanging her head shamefully. "I surrender."

The final bell rang out; the audience jumped up in cheers.

" **What an incredible match, ladies and gentleman,** " said Chapati Lola. " **A truly epic clash between two powerful forces culminating into a single display of strength and cunning. Penny put up a good fight, but in the end she was no match for Erza's wits.** "

" **Well folks, that's a wrap for day one of the rand Magic Games,** " said Nio. " **Let's take a look at the final scores of the evening.** "

 **Team JNPR – 18pts  
Team Sabertooth – 16pts  
Team Fairy Tail – 14pts  
Team SHDO – 10pts  
Team Eto – 2 pts  
Team Sora – 0pts**

" **Crowd favorite Team JNPR has taken the lead for the day with eighteen points** ," said Nio. " **Six time winners Sabertooth fall behind with sixteen points. Returning Team Fairy Tail moves up in the ranks to third with fourteen points. Team SHDO – who won first place in the event match – are now in fourth place with ten points. Team Eto managed to scratch a measly two points. And team Sora came in dead last in both parts of the competition, earning them zero points. Guess we know who the biggest losers are.** "

"You guys suck!"

"Go home to your mommies!"

"I didn't pay to watch a bunch of nobodies!"

" **Wow, the crowd is really ripping Team Sora apart,** " said Nio with a sadistic chuckle.

" **It's been an exciting day here, hasn't it?** " said Chapati Lola. " **The talent level this year is off the charts. Team Sabertooth didn't pull a first place victory like they said they would, but remember it's only the first day. Here's hoping we'll see some dramatic comebacks in the days ahead. And thank you, Defense Minister Nishizumi, for joining us today.** "

" **It was my pleasure,** " said Miho sweetly. " **Um…can I take this costume off now?** "

" **And that brings us to the exciting conclusion of day one of the Grand Magic Games,** " said Chapati Lola. " **We hope to see you again for the next thrilling installment. Until next time, this is Chapati Lola wishing you a good day.** "

" **Bye-bye** ," waved Miho.

" **Catch ya next time,** " said Nio with a two-fingered salute.

* * *

 **I have to say the fight between Penny and Erza might be my smoothest battle yet; I'm quite proud of it.**

 **Next world: Mid-Childa**

 **Please, read and review.**


	19. StrikerS, Part 1

**Chapter Eighteen: StrikerS, Part 1**

Team Sora (the so-called 'team leader' insisted on keeping the name) was not too sad to leave Fiore once the final ceremonies of the Grand Magic Game's first day was over. They paced as fast as they could without looking like they were running through jeering crowds, trying very hard not to let the insults, name calling, and overall negative comments about their mothers get to them. Since they had left the Games more than a few hours ago, the Gummi Ship had become unbearably quiet. Penny focused all her attention on flying the spacecraft while just stared out the window looking at nothing in particular.

Sora frowned. He was used to Penny talking so animatedly, filling Sora's head with facts about different worlds while Sun would throw in a humorous comment or rude joke that would make him laugh out loud. This length of silence was unnerving. Sora understood that they were still kicking themselves for their loss in the Games, but he really hoped they would snap out of their funk soon, for the mission if not for his sake.

When it looked like neither of them was willing to talk, Sora turned in his chair to the newest addition to their group.

"Thanks for agreeing to come with us, Velvet," said Sora with a genuine smile. "It really helps us out having someone who's had plenty of world experience like you around."

"It was my pleasure, Sora," said Velvet, smiling sweetly back; Sora's face felt hot again. "I was still planning on traveling the worlds looking for my friends, but it can be lonely when you have no one to talk to for a long time. So it's nice to have some traveling companions for a change. And besides," she added, lowering her voice so that only Sora could hear, "I figured you'd want some company since Sun and Penny are…well…."

"Yeah…I hope they feel better soon," said Sora, looking at his friend's backs. "I get that they're feeling bad, but they really need to perk up soon or we'll be in a lot of trouble when we get to the next world."

"Where is the next world, by the way?" Velvet asked Penny aloud.

"General Schnee gave us orders to rendezvous with Commander Yagami on Mid-Childa," said Penny shortly.

"Oh, Mid-Childa," said Velvet, sounding pleasantly surprised. "I haven't been back there in over five years. It's the sixth most technologically advanced world in the Ocean Between, and it's the headquarters of the Time-Space Administration Bureau."

"I've heard Penny talking about that," said Sora. "What is the Time-Space Administration Bureau? With a big name like that, they must be important."

"Oh, they are," said Velvet nodding in agreement. "Imagine the Atlas Military, but on a galactic scale. The Time-Space Administration Bureau – or TSAB for short – is an interdimensional security force made from a union of several worlds. While TSAB is mainly used as military defense, they have smaller sections that are dedicated to wildlife preservation, cultural growth, and disaster relief. The TSAB are the forerunners of military defense because they monopolized on technomagic."

"What's technomagic?" asked Sora curiously.

"It's exactly how it sounds," Penny finally spoke, if only in a monotone. "The Mages of the TSAB have the capacity for magic and focus it through advanced technology to make it stronger. Atlas tried replicating similar technology using aura instead of Mana, but our understanding out aura is strictly limited even after a hundred years of advancements while they have magic down to a science. One time, the Atlas Military and the Time-Space Administration Bureau had an exchange of idea and an armed demonstration: a platoon of Atlesian Knight-3000 against one of their aces – Testarossa, I believe her name was. Needless to say, we spent the entire afternoon picking up scrap parts."

"Wow, that sounds awesome," said Sora astonishingly.

"It's a lot different than the free-form wizard of Fiore – oops!" yelped Velvet, slapping her hands over her mouth. It was too late; Penny and Sun slumped deeper into their chairs. "I'm sorry – wow, I sound like Pyrrha."

Sora chuckled lightly before a soft beeping came from the console in the front of the ship and one of the buttons was flashing red. Penny stamped the control and an electronic voice came through on the speakers:

" **This is Mid-Childa Central Traffic Control to unidentified spacecraft. You have not been scheduled for arrival. Please state your business.** "

"This is Major Polendina from Atlas," said Penny formally, "arriving with Captain Wukong, Sora, and Velvet Scarlatina. We have been authorized by General Schnee of the Atlas Military and Commander Yagami of Lost Property Riot Force 6 to procure classified information for our mission. Please grant us clearance to enter Mid-Childa space."

"…. **Commander Yagami has cleared you for entrance. Transmitting coordinates to Lost Property Riot Force 6 headquarters. Please observe all aerial traffic laws and head to your designated area as soon as possible.** "

"Understood," said Penny. "Major Polendina out."

"Wow, that sounded so official," said Sora.

"Mid-Childa is the central headquarters for the largest military force in the galaxy," said Velvet. "You better start getting used to saluting and addressing people as 'sir'.

Though Velvet meant it as a joke, Sora started practicing nonetheless; the first attempt resulted in him smacking himself with the side of his hand between the eyes. For the first time since they left Fiore, Sun and Penny managed to crack a couple of smiles and bit their lips as they dived into Mid-Childa's atmosphere.

* * *

 **MID-CHILDA**

* * *

They had visited amusement parks, tropical jungles, gladiator coliseums, and a town cloaked in eternal night, but none it compared to the sheer _scale_ of Mid-Childa. Though they didn't land in the city itself, Sora could see the dozens of skyscrapers gleaming in the sunlight across the wide river – they all looked so sleek and futuristic with holographic signs flying everywhere. Sora vocalized his desire to visit the city, but Velvet discreetly rejected the idea; she seemed to think that Sora would get lost, which…admittedly…was not far from the truth.

Penny landed the Gummi ship in the wide sweeping lawn of the Riot Force 6 headquarters, which seemed rather small for a military base in Sora's opinion. It was bigger than any building in Traverse Town, going up to eight levels, and was definitely wide enough to hold a division of personal, but it looked more like a mix between an office building and a hotel. The way Sora pictured it; he thought they would be in one of the tall skyscrapers across the river. But on the positive side, Riot Force 6 had a massive front lawn that lead into a dense private forest. Sora's sharp eyes noticed the many holes and scratches in the bark of the trees – looks like they used the forest as a training ground.

Team Sora exited the Gummi Ship when something small flew up to them and nearly made Sora trip over himself in surprise. The spiky-haired boy leaned in closer when he realized the strange creature was actually a human girl so tiny she could sit in the palm of his hand – a fairy, maybe? The tiny woman had a curtain of silver-blue hair that ran down her back with a single lock extending away from the rest adorned with a yellow "X" clip.

"Excuse me, but are you the ambassadors from the Atlas Military?" asked the fairy woman.

"Not sure if ambassadors is the right word," said Penny, "but yes, Atlas sent us."

"Oh, good, you arrived safely," said the fairy woman with a sigh of relief. "Welcome to Lost Property Riot Force 6 Division headquarters. My name's Reinforce Zwei, but everyone calls me Rein. I'm the Chief of Staff and assistant to the commander. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You know, Ruby used to have a dog name Zwei," said Velvet offhandedly, unintentionally ignoring the fairy woman. "He was the cutest little thing, scampering around wagging his adorable little tail, playing with his ball, and he was pretty good with a can opener."

"A dog headbutted me awake after the islands disappeared," said Sora, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder whatever happened to him."

"Mou, stop ignoring me!" whined Rein, puffing out her cheeks and flailing her arms childishly.

"Aw, she's so adorable," Penny gushed, petting Rein's head.

The fairy woman looked like she was experiencing pure bliss when Penny roamed a finger in circles around the top of her head, then let out a gasp when she realized what she was doing, and shook the finger off. She was fuming now, but her face with streaked red with embarrassment.

"Stop that! I'm not a puppy!" yipped Rein, still pouting. "Never mind! Just follow me! The commander's expecting you."

Sora, Sun, Penny, and Velvet snickered behind their hands when the fairy woman turned her back on them and floated away, leading the four huntsmen to follow behind.

Walking in through the sliding doors only affirmed Sora's belief that Riot Force 6 was more of an office instead of a military base, having comfortable lounge chairs, calming music playing over the loud speakers, and a secretary behind the front desk. Rein only waved at the secretary, who nodded in response, and turned right down the long hallway headed towards the elevators at the end. They took the lift up to the fourth floors and continued left. A sparse number of men and women dressed in matching dirt-brown military uniforms passed them in the hallway, giving a cheerful wave and a quick "Hello, ma'am" to Rein when they passed. Guess she's very important around her, thought Sora.

"Commander Yagami will be waiting in her office," said Rein, stopping in front of a pair polished wood double doors. "She said she wanted to speak with you immediately."

Sun stepped up first, grasped both the door handles, and pushed inside slowly. When the door opened only a crack, they heard two voices leaking through; both of them belonged to woman and one of them they recognized immediately.

Sitting behind the mahogany desk was a woman that looked nothing like you would expect of a military commander. For starters, she looked way too young to have the position – probably not even in her twenties yet – and had a sparkling gleam behind her stormy-gray eyes. Her toffee-colored hair was cut short to her shoulders with a red "X" hair ornament similar to Rein's with two parallel yellow stripes. He looked very relaxed as she leaned back in her office chair, even when confronted with a stern-looked General Schnee over holographic communication.

"…to entrust the safety of the worlds to a handful of random huntsmen," said General Schnee. "Nothing against them personally – I know from experience that Wukong and Polendina are commendable soldiers, and Scarlatina has vast worldly experience, but my concern lies with the boy. He's simply too young and too inexperienced."

"I can understand why you're so concerned," said Commander Yagami. "But to initiate the Overwatch Recall…. After watch happened in Zürich, some people are still wary about them being recommissioned. And you have to take into consideration how it would reflect on both the Atlas Military and the Time-Space Administration Bureau – "

"I've already taken that into account," said General Schnee shortly. "And I came to the conclusion that I don't give a damn what the public thinks about supporting them. We are talking about the safety of the worlds. Public relations should be the last thing on our minds at the moment."

"No, I totally get that," said Commander Yagami, raising her hands in mock surrender. "It's just that – Oh, look who showed up," she added, taking notice of Team Sora's arrival. "Uh…would you guys mind waiting for a moment. We're kind of in the middle of something."

"No, this discussion can wait," said General Schnee. "Commander, bring these four up to speed with your findings and send them on their way immediately."

"Yes, sir," said Commander Yagami with a salute. When the hologram vanished, Hayate fell deeper into her see with a loud groan. "Thank god it's over. I didn't know how much longer I was gonna be able to hold out. I don't know if you noticed, but talking to an uptight prude like Winter can be a little more than stressful."

"Yeah, we noticed," said Sora jokingly.

"Commander Yagami," said Penny formally with her hands folded behind her back. "We are the – "

"Oh, I already know who you are, silly," said Commander Yagami in a laidback manner, waving her off. "No need to act all stiff – we're all friends here. And please, call me Hayate."

"Okay…Hayate…," said Penny strangely. "I assu – er, guess you already know why we're here."

"Winny's kept to up to date with your progress," said Hayate. She reached down behind her desk and slapped a handful of file on top. "Gotta say, it's pretty impressive for a relatively new unit: exposing illegal experiments at Deadman Wonderland, staving off Mega Grimm at Traverse Town, slaying evil sun goddesses, and I just saw your fights on the Grand Magic Games yesterday – uh, oops," she added with a nervous chuckle, noticing Sun and Penny's depressed mood swings. "My bad. I can relate in some ways, I guess."

"Um…Hayate…General Schnee said you would have something for us," said Velvet, uncertain if she was speaking out of turn.

"In a way, yeah," said Hayate. "Would you like the good news or the bad news first?"

"Give us the bad news," said Sora immediately.

"Why the bad news?" asked Sun with a brow raised.

"That way we can end on a good note," said Sora like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Huh, never thought of it like that," said Sun.

"Well, the bad news is…we have no clue where Ruby or her team is," Hayate admitted grimly, folding her hands on the desk and turning on them with a serious gaze. "Normally, it's none of the Time-Space Administration Bureau's business to go out looking for a few random women, especially ones that have been missing for ten years. But Winny argued with the High Council that their disappearances may be connected to why the creatures of Grimm are suddenly swarming into other worlds when before they were known to have only inhabited Remnant. The time frames certainly seem to match up. But after weeks of work from our top investigators, we couldn't turn up anything. The most we know is that they visited a certain number of worlds before they disappeared ten years ago."

"Like Fiore," said Sora.

"Exactly," said Hayate, nodded. "So we've been following up on these leads and, though he haven't gotten any closer to finding Team RWBY, we did manage to turn up something interesting. And that's where the good news starts." She reached for the thin frame sitting on her desk, pressed a button, and a holographic screen popped up in front of them. It was a blurry image of the back of a dark-haired man dressed in black with a white cloth over his shoulder. "The Black Wizard Zeref, a cursed sorcerer who has been cursed with immortality and is known to have caused a number of calamities over the past four hundred years, including the creation of the Etheious and Lullaby."

"Zeref also wrote the original Book of Darkness," Rein chimed in; Sora had almost forgotten she was here.

"Yes, that was certainly a shock when we found out," said Hayate, chuckling lightly to herself. "But that's not the point. We know that Zeref has had a hand in destroying Remnant and many other worlds, but we recently learned that Zeref has been assembly a cabal of allies…information provided by Roman Torchwick."

"You found Torchwick?" gasped Penny. "Did you arrest him?"

"Sadly, we don't have the authority to incarcerate him," said Hayate, hanging her head and sighing in defeat. "Technically, he has done anything illegal. He runs the most powerful guild in Fiore and is a very wealthy man with exceptional influence all over the world, but he hasn't committed any crimes in the past seven years. Inspector Nakajima confronted him about his involvement with Zeref and he openly admitted to have been revived by the man, but never went to work with him. We could have detained him on the grounds of association with a known criminal, but Roman is a shrewd businessman and made us an offer we couldn't refuse. In exchange for dropping all charges against him, he provided us with a list of everyone in Zeref's cabal."

Hayate pressed another button on the frame; the blurred image of Zeref closed and was replaced by five different individuals. Sora recognized Roman Torchwick in the first photo; it looked like it was taken from a mugshot since he was holding up a prison number. The other four none of them had ever seen. One was a man with skin as white as chalk with neatly combed green hair and ruby-red lips twisted into a maniacal smile. The next wasn't really human, but more of a reddish-pink octopus with glowing green eyes wearing a golden samurai helmet. And next to the octopus was a man large man that was severely overweight and a concerning amount of body hair on his exposed chest, donning a black pirate's hat and coat. The last one, though Team Sora didn't know him, was Doctor Scaglietti smiling into the camera with a mockingly confident smile.

"Torchwick was unusually forthcoming in selling out Zeref's allies – not surprising really," said Hayate. "Once Torchwick gave up their names, we went to work investigating their backgrounds and found some interesting things about a few of them. For starters, the Joker: a homicidal maniac from Gotham City with a penchant for chaos and no regard for human life. When looking through the GCPD reports, we found out that Weiss Schnee was credited in assistance for his arrest on Christmas night ten years ago as well as the Batman, which is evidence that Team RWBY was at Gotham for a time."

"Gotham City…," mumbled Penny, having pulled out a notebook and wrote down the name.

"The large man on the right is Marshell D. Tetch, or Blackbeard," said Hayate. "We've made no real connection between him and Team RWBY, but we have heard word from some residents that each member of the team has visited the Grand Line at least once. Apparently, they were chasing after someone – don't know who."

"Ya think you could at least censor the photo?" said Sun, looking very sick to his stomach trying not to look. "Oum, someone needs to give that guy a shirt."

"The Octopus is DJ Octavio, king of the Octarians," said Hayate.

"I heard of him," said Velvet, crossing her arms and frowning. "I once visited Inkopolis. The people that live there – the Inklings – have been at war with the Octarians for decades."

"Once again, there has been no word about his involvement with Team RWBY, if there is one," said Hayate. "At the very least, he should be investigated for his involvement with Zeref. But that last one…he's the one we're most concerned with," – She swiped away the other images and enlarged Scaglietti's picture – "Jail Scaglietti. He was a former scientist involved with a lot of TSAB projects so top secret that only the High Council was aware of, including the now-illegal Project Fate. Scaglietti was known to have involvement in multiple illegal activities and coerced the TSAB leadership to cover up his project. But after one of his projects resulted in the murders of several high ranked officers, including Quint Nakajima and Zest Grangeitz, the Bureau could no long cover for him. Despite their involvement, the leadership deflected lame to Scaglietti and outed him as a criminal. He's been on the Bureau's top most wanted list since."

"Wait, so the TSAB helped this guy do a lot of bad things and they pin the blame on him to save themselves?" said Sora aghast.

"No government is free of corruption, Sora," said Hayate. "Not even Atlas. Just ask Ironwood."

"How is Scaglietti involved with Zeref?" asked Penny, usually quick in Sora's opinion.

"That part we haven't figured out yet," said Hayate. She shut down the hologram, pushed out her seat, and walked around the desk in front of them. "But Scaglietti has always been fascinated with creating life. And Zeref, who is known for mastering Life Magic, must be a god to him. But our sources say that Scaglietti has been spotted in multiple abandoned TSAB research facilities. We have our top agents scouting the other buildings as we speak."

"If you don't mind," said Penny as Hayate walked by on her way to the door, "I'd like to take a look at the information you currently have on the rest of Zeref's cabal."

"You're more than free to look around," said Hayate pleasantly, opening the door. "It'll take a while, so the rest of you can visit the cafeteria – oh, Vivio, I didn't see you there."

Sora and the others poked their heads around the military commander and peered down to the tiny little girl standing in the middle of the hall looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Her golden hair was a disheveled mess, looking like she had just gotten out of bed, and she was clutching her little stuffed rabbit like a lifeline. But her eyes were what drew the most attention – she had heterochromia; her right eye shimmering like an emerald and her left was the same color as wine.

When the little girl – Vivio – noticed the strangers standing behind Hayate, she made a tiny noise in the back of her throat, hugging her toy rabbit tighter, and her lip started to quiver. Sora felt a thrill of panic run up his spine; it was never a good feeling to make a little kid cry, especially when people had a tendency to stare with mixed expressions of annoyance and loathing. So the spiky-haired islander slipped underneath Hayate's arm, crouched down to Vivio's level, and gave her the widest smile he could muster.

"Hey, Vivio…," said Sora slowly, holding out his hand gradually. "Don't be scared, I'm not – "

But Vivio yelped when his hand drew near, dashed unexpectedly at Sora, pushed him with all of her tiny might, and knocked him flat on his back. By the time the scythe wielder sat up, Vivio was already turning the corner at the end of the hall; she was a speedy little demon, Sora thought. The Riot Force commander laughed at Sora's misfortune, but was polite enough to offer him and hand and helped him back to his feet.

"You'll have to forgive Vivio," said Hayate humorously. "She's very shy around strangers and can be a little bit of a crybaby when Nanoha and Fate aren't around. Just give her some time to get to know you and I'm sure you two will be thick as thieves…but without the whole being arrested stuff."

"I didn't think the Time-Space Administration Bureau allowed children into their facilities," said Penny thoughtfully. "Especially considering that they city is just across the river – there wouldn't be any shortage of places for her to stay in the meantime."

"Vivio is…a special case," Hayate excused weakly; Penny eyed her suspiciously. "We're not really here to discuss the politics of military childrearing, are we? You wanted to see the data on Zeref's cabal, did ya?" – She turned to address the rest of team Sora – "While I show the major to the data crux, why don't you three make yourselves at home? There are some spare rooms in the next wing if you want to rest and the cafeteria is on the second floor – Signum has cooking duty today and she makes some really good sushi. You can also explore the miniature forest outside, but make sure not to go past the bridge – technically, you four aren't registered visitors to Mid-Childa. I think Subaru and the other rookies are outside training, so maybe you could get in a little sparing practice. And…well, that's really all I got. Just stay out of trouble, okay?"

"No promises," said Sun joking. Hayate laughed out loud before she and Penny walked away. "Whelp, if ya need me, I'll be in the next wing. After that brutal beating at the Games, I'm about to drop dead."

"I think I'll head down to the cafeteria," said Velvet. "I haven't had sushi since that accident in Japan," – her eyes zipped back and forth between the boys expectantly, frowning when neither of them spoke up. "Really? No one's going to ask me about it? All right, fine. You just missed out on a great story."

"Guess I'll head down to the forest and see if I can get some training in," said Sora, patting Enduring Zinnia purposely. "I'm gonna try out for the next round of the Games, so I should be prepared."

"All right, I guess we'll just meet up again later," said Velvet.

Team Sora decidedly went their separate ways to do their own thing. The spiky-haired scythe wielder, however, never noticed the narrow, over-the-shoulder look he was receiving as he waited for the elevator. Maybe if he had paid more attention, Sora thought months later, he could have prevented the dark events that would soon take place.

* * *

Sora traipsed through the private woods surrounding the Riot Force 6 headquarters with his hands behind his head; his eyes wandering aimlessly between the grassy pathway and the open-aired canopy above. You know, he never thought to ask Hayate _why_ they had a dense forest in their lawn, especially considering they have an entire city on the opposite side of the river – didn't make a lot of geographical sense. Then again, Sora only got a C+ in geography, so who was he to complain? In a sense, the forest reminded Sora of the island he, Riku, and Kairi would play at…back when they had a world. The obvious exception was that there was a lot more plant life here than the sparse palm trees of the islands and a lot more animal activity as well. A couple times Sora came across a strange looking animal he had never seen before and managed to catch their eyes before they would flee further into the trees.

"This place is awesome," murmured Sora pleasantly, taking a deep breath. "I can't remember the last time I felt so relaxed…not since I left the Islands, I guess," – he left out a rumbling groan as he stretched his arms behind him, feeling the pleasant pressure on his back. "Man, this place is so calm and peaceful. I bet nothing could ever – "

 _ **BOOM!**_

"I didn't even get to finish my sentence!" yelped Sora.

Sora craned his head backward and spotted the plume of gray smoke climbing from the area up ahead. The first thing that crossed his mind was another Grimm attack, but if that had been the case, the soldiers back at Riot Force 6 would have spotted the Grimm before they even made it past the bridge and sounded some kind of alarm. So if it wasn't the Grimm, then it had to be the rookies that Hayate had mentioned. Sora sprinted through the woods ("Have I been getting faster lately?" Sora asked himself, noticing the trees blurring past him) and pushed through a wall of bushes before ending up in a small clearing in the forest. Lo and behold, the spiky-haired traveler found three girls and one boy roughly around his age dressed in matching blue training sweats and white shirts.

The oldest of the group was a girl with burning-orange hair tied up into choppy pigtails, leaning forward on her knees and breathing heavy; she was holding a pair of silver pistols with red "X" stamped on the sides. The girl laying spread eagle on the ground next to a small crater was rather boyish with short, indigo hair tied back by a long white headband; her right arm was covered by a black steel gauntlet with rotating gears and a pair of advanced roller-skates. Sitting opposite of the clearing was the only boy of the group who had wild, crimson-red hair leaning against a long spear that looked like it was equipped with engines. And the last girl sitting next to him was very tiny with short bubblegum-pink hair that touched her shoulders wearing a pair of light-purple gloves with pink jewels stitched into the back of the hand. And unless Sora's eyes were deceiving him, he could swear there was a tiny white dragon sitting on the pink-haired girl's lap.

"Goddammit, Subaru!" yelled the orange-haired gunner, glaring at the tomboy. "What did I tell you? This is strictly a close-quarters combat session! So what in the name of the Saint King were you thinking in using a Divine Buster at that close proximity? You could have hurt Erio if I hadn't jumped in where I did!"

"Eh-hehe," said Subaru sheepishly, scratching her check. "Sorry 'bout that, Tea. Just kinda lost in the moment, ya know – "

"Don't you 'ya know' me!" snapped Tea; Subaru yipped and scooted away several feet.

"It wasn't really that bad, Teana," said the pink-haired girl, waving her hands in trying to diffuse the situation. "You did stop anything from happening, so – "

"Don't try to make excuses for her, Caro," said Teana severally; Caro sent a pitiful look to Subaru that said 'Hey, I tried'. "It shouldn't have happened in the first place. If you're this undisciplined in training, imagine how much worse it could be out there in the field. Captain Takamachi left me with specific instructions to whip you all into shape while she and Captain Testarossa are out, and that's what I'm going to do. And what is it, Erio?" she added when realizing that the only boy was waving his hand for attention.

"First off, it wasn't as bad as you make it out to be – no one got hurt," said Erio reasonably. "Second…who's that guy?"

Erio pointed to Sora and the girls turned their heads in unison towards him. The spiky-haired boy chuckled and waved his hand awkwardly; they immediately shot to the air when Teana trained her pistols on him with a look of suspicious in her eyes.

"Hold it!" shouted Teana with authority. "These are private grounds of the Time-Space Administration Bureau Lost Property Riot Force 6! You're trespassing!"

"I'm not trespassing, I swear!" yelped Sora, sweating up a storm. He had never been arrested before…well, he wasn't too clear about the Deadman Wonderland thing. "I'm here with uh…Major Polendina and Captain Wukong from the Atlas Military. We're here to pick up some info from Hayate, that's all."

"Oh, so you're the guests Commander Yagami was expecting," said Teana surprisingly. It took her a moment to remember that she still had her guns aimed at Sora and put them away, her face turning red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry about that. I was…well, aren't you a little young to be in the military?" – Sora shot her with a blank look, turned his head to Erio and Caro, and then back again – "Okay, point taken."

"So you're that famous scythe guy, huh?" said Subaru excitedly; Sora could practically see the tail wagging. "Hayate's told us all the stories about you guys: destroying a prison to break out innocent prisoners, smashing giant suits of armor with nobody in them, and slaying evil voodoo gods with magical fire!"

"That's…not entirely accurate," said Sora, chuckling awkwardly.

"Well, I'm Caro Ru Lushe," said Caro, standing up and bowing politely. She gestured to the tiny dragon flapping next to her. "And this is Friedrich – we call him Fried."

"Erio Mondial, how's it goin'," said Erio with a grinning two-fingered salute.

"Lost Property Riot Force 6 second ground member Teana Lanster," said Teana stiffly with her back straight, her shoulders squared, and her hands folded behind her back; everything you would expected from a disciplined soldier. "Forward Stars unit center guard – call sign Star04 – "

"I'm Subaru!" yelled Subaru, cutting off Teana and making her sputter in disbelief. "So awesome to have you here."

"Thanks," said Sora graciously. "I'm Sora. So, you guys were in the middle of training?"

"We _were_ until Subaru went off the rails – _again_ ," said Teana, glaring at her teammate with her hands on her hips. Subaru stuck out her tongue and scratched her head, giggling sheepishly. "We were just about to move on to some one-on-one sparring sessions – strictly limited to close-quarters combat!" This was once again directed at Subaru.

"You guys mind if I join?" asked Sora. "I could really use the practice. I didn't get much of a chance to do anything during the Games."

"Oh, you mean the Grand Magic Games," said Erio, sounding impressed. "Yeah, we saw that on television the other day…. That monkey guy got his tail handed to him. And that girl with the strings coming out of her back didn't do too hot either, but at least she put up a good fight. Though I bet Fate could have taken Erza in five seconds."

"Oh yeah, well Nanoha could do it in four seconds!" shouted Subaru, jumping up and surprisingly staying balanced despite wearing skates.

"Then Fate could do it in three seconds!" Erio snapped back.

"Nanoha could do it in two!" yelled Subaru stubbornly.

Watching them argue about whose hero was better was like watching a tennis match; they went back and forth detailing the many great things about "Nanoha" and "Fate" that made their superior to the other. Erio proclaimed that Fate could run faster than the speed of light and rain down lightning like Thor; Subaru shot back by equating Nanoha's flying skill to that of a fighter jet and had "a pink beam of death". The entire time this was happening, Caro was feeding her pet dragon, Fried, and Teana was rubbing the bridge of her nose with an exasperated sigh. This must have been a common occurrence, Sora thought. When the argument started reaching ridiculous levels ("Fate makes the best coffee!", "Nanoha makes the best pancakes!"), Teana finally had enough. She raised her pistol into the air and fired off a round. The noise made Subaru and Erio jump and fall backward on their butts.

"If you two done fawning over the captains," Teana grimaced, before turning to Sora. "Sorry about that. If you want to, you could join us in our sparring sessions. We just need to find a partner who's best suited to match your abilities. So…what can you do?"

"Well, my weapon is scythe," said Sora, pulling out and unfolding Enduring Zinnia; Subaru and Erio were very impressed. "I wouldn't say I'm the best with it considering it's not mine, but I think I got the hang of it. I'm also pretty fast. Penny thinks I might have a speed semblance like Ruby Rose…who you guys don't know. Never mind."

"Hmm…," said Teana, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Erio, why don't you and Sora go a few rounds? I think the training could benefit you both."

"Sound good to me," said Erio, spinning his spear causally between his fingers with amazing dexterity; if Sora tried something like that, he'd likely cut his hand off. "Don't go easy on me just cause I'm small."

"I get the feeling I need you to go easy on me," said Sora jokingly; Erio laughed as well.

Sora and Erio moved to opposite sides of the clearing with their weapons presented in front of them while the girls waited off on the side to monitor the fight; Teana even had a whistled prepared. It was a classic western showdown; two men staring each other down from opposite ends, the sun beating down on the from above as the wind kicked by and – wait, was that corgi rolling by as a tumbleweed? Apparently he wasn't the only one that noticed – the rest of the trainings were following the tumbleweed-dog with wide eyes of disbelief…so random….Unfortunately, they never had the chance to start their training session before a blaring siren rang across the forest, causing nearly everyone to jump in surprise. It sounded like it was coming from the Riot Force 6 headquarters.

"What's that noise?" asked Sora, his heart pumping frantically.

"It's the emergency alert system," said Teana while remaining composed. She reached into her pocket, pulled out something similar to a scroll, and started tapping the buttons. When she pulled her hand back, a holographic image of a serious-looking Hayate popped up; the rookies quickly fell in line with a salute. "Commander Yagami, we just heard the emergency alarm? Requesting information concerning the situation."

"Are we under attack?" asked Subaru; Teana backhanded her for speaking out of turn. "Owie…"

"The base isn't under attack, Subaru, don't worry," said Hayate gently. "We just received information that a group of monsters have appeared in the woodlands of Mid-Childa East after being discovered by a couple of hikers. No one was hurt, thank the Saint King. Based on their description compared the information provided by the Atlas Military, we believe the monsters might be a new species of Grimm."

"The Grimm? On Mid-Childa?" said Sora shockingly.

"How'd they get past the planetary defense system?" asked Erio curiously.

"We're looking into that," said Hayate. "Central headquarters has assigned Riot Force 6 to handle to situation?"

"Us?" said Teana, blinking in a confused manner. "But…Riot Force 6 is a specialized unit for retrieving Lost Logia. Shouldn't this be an assignment for the Capital Defense Corps?"

"For some reason, Defense Secretary Regius Gaiz doesn't think it's worth his division's time," said Hayate, uttering the name with notable contempt. "There's nothing we can do about it – the assignment has been approved by Ground Headquarters. All Forwards are to be dispatched immediately. Oh, and bring Sora with you. His team has experience in dealing with these monsters."

"Yes, ma'am!" shouted the rookies in unison. Hayate's image closed and Teana turned to Sora. "You wanted to train with us. No better place to do it than out in the field, I suppose. Move out, troops!"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," said Sora with an awkward salute.

* * *

Sora's hand tightened around the strap above their heads as the military helicopter swayed back and forth, peering out through the open side doors into the sea of trees below. Teana was standing on the opposite side of the door dressed in her combat uniform with one hand holding the grip above her and the other to her ear, no doubt receiving instructions from Hayate. With "Nanoha" and "Fate" out on a different mission, Hayate had declared Teana leader of the operation and it seemed like the gunner was taking the position very seriously. In the back of the copter, Penny, Erio, and Velvet were standing by waiting orders, Caro was folding her hands in a silent prayer, Sun was tapping the floor thoughtlessly with his staff, and Subaru closed her fist, opened, and then closed again several times. Not a single one of them was smiling or making jokes like they usually did. To Sora, it really felt like a military operation and he didn't know whether to be excited or worried.

"10-4, commander, Lanster out!" shout Teana over the noise of the helicopter blades, taking her hand from her ear. "All right, listen up! We have satellite confirmation on the Grimm's location! Coordinates are 36.2048° N, 138.2529° E! You get all that Vice?"

"Loud and clear!" called back Vice the pilot. "ETA is in five minutes! So you might wanna fill you team in on the plan!"

"I was getting to that!" snapped Teana indignantly, turning back to the group. "As you already know, the Grimm were spotted by a group of hikers in the Mid-Childa East woodlands and satellite imaging has estimated their total number to be a rough estimate of twenty or thirty at most! Long Arch suspects that there might be more hiding nearby, so caution is advised! Our mission is a simple extermination run; no showboating and no unnecessary risks! Stay in formation and keep your comms on at all times!"

"What's our formation?" asked Velvet.

"After carefully analyzing everyone's individual abilities, I've concluded that this was the best option!" said Teana, pulling out her Scroll-like device. A holographic field appeared above the device and where tiny figurines of each member were set. "Sora and Subaru will take point as front attackers! They will be the first to charge in down the middle of the pack and hopefully scatter them! Sun and Erio, you two will be the guard wings! When the enemy is divided, you two will come in from outside; Subaru and Sora will separate and join you to pick them off! Penny, you and I will be center guard! Since we are the only long range members, we will provide support fire from a distance! And Caro, you will be the full back. Have your support spells ready to heal or increase at any time!"

"And what about me?" asked Velvet.

"You're the wild card, Velvet!" said Teana. "With your unique semblance and weapon, you have the most flexible skill range! Placing you in one position would work against us! The best thing I can say is that you should act how you believe would help while trying not to interfere with your teammates!" Velvet nodded in confirmation. "This is it, people! This is no longer a training or escort mission – this is the real deal! We are about to go into combat with real enemies and we won't have the security of Captain Takamachi and Captain Testarossa to cover our backs! Fortunately, we have four huntsmen with experience in facing Grimm, so we know they can be depended on! Stick with the plan and we should be fine! Any questions?"

"No, ma'am!" said the team in unison.

"We're coming up on the drop zone!" said Vice the Pilot. "We should be seeing activity in…whoa, what the hell?"

Sora and Teana poked their heads out the open door and stared down to what Vice was looking at, soon sharing the same look of bewilderment as the pilot.

"What is that?" asked Sora shocking.

"I have…no idea…," said Teana slowly.

Down below, a section of the forest the size of Riot Force headquarters had been cleared away; the trees ripped up by their roots and mountains of dirt excavated from the ground. Underneath the surface of Mid-Childa's crust was…. Well, Sora didn't really know what it is; all he could see was a massive slab of golden metal with hints of blue metal near the top in a perfectly polished and pristine state despite being buried underground. If this section was only small part of the whole, the whatever it was the creatures were digging up must be the size of small town.

As Vice flew the helicopter over the excavation site, Penny and the rest of the team joined Sora and Teana at the front, craning their heads over the shoulders leaders and peering down. Even from this range, Sora's team could recognize the outline of a Beowolf from its lanky arms and hunched spine to its long snout. But these Beowolves were different than any breed they had ever come across. The bones claws and spike that grew from their arms were released with serrated steel versions with tubes of unknown orange liquid going in and out of their biceps to the spherical storage containers strapped to their backs. Their legs and chests were covered with metallic implants (the chest pieces bared the emblem of the artificial Grimm) and their bone-white masks were replaced with silver plates coated with cybernetic circuitry.

"Do Grimm normally look like that?" asked Caro.

"No!" Penny replied quickly. "The Grimm have always been primal monsters by nature! Never heard of Grimm that were part machine!"

"It looks like they've been augmented with Mid-Childan cybernetics," said Teana, unholstering her pistol. "They've become Combat Cyborgs!"

"Neo-wolves!" shouted Sora suddenly. Everyone stared at him. "What? They need a name! I thought Neo-wolves would sound cool!"

"What about Cy-Wolves?" Subaru suggested.

"You two really need to work on your priori – " Teana stated.

 _ **BOOM!**_

The helicopter shook hard; Sora and Teana clung to the sides of the open door while the rest of the team fell to the back of the copter into a pile of limbs.

"What happened?" Teana asked Vice.

"They have aerial support incoming!" Vice called back.

Sora and Teana leaned outside and faced the front; they pulled their heads back in just seconds before the red lasers could shoot their heads off, and then leaned out again for a better look. The bird-like monsters looked like smaller versions of the Grimm Sora had fought in both his dream and the day of Destiny Island's destruction, but like the Neo-wolves, they had also been enhanced with machine parts. Their wings were made entirely of metal and their feathers were made of sharp dagger blades; small cannons were mounted on each of their shoulders firing off red laser rounds. They have small plates of metal armor covering their chests and electronic masks like their ground counterparts.

"Stars 04 to Long Arch 00!" shouted Teana, touching the communicator in her ear. "We have made contact with the target. We have confirmed that the enemy ranks consist of Beowolves and Nevermores augmented with cybernetic enhancements – "

"Cyber-mores!" said Sora. "I am on a roll today!"

"Hostiles have engaged us mid-flight!" reported Teana, ignoring Sora's commentary. "We are moving in to secure the area! Over and out! Vice!" she called the pilot. "Return to base immediately! We can handle ourselves from here!"

"Stay safe, all right!" called Vice.

"All right, people!" said Teana, making swiping motions with her arm. "Let get out there! Move, move, move!"

Subaru put on a surprisingly serious face as she broke free from the pile and skated out the door into a spread-eagle dive. Teana looked to Sora next, but when the spiky-haired boy didn't seem to understand, the redheaded gunner stepped back and literally kicked him out the door; Sora shrieked and flailed his arms rapidly. Sun and Erio dived out next, jumping in opposite directions, then Teana threw her arm around Penny's shoulder before both of them dived out after them, shortly followed behind by Velvet. Caro didn't jump, but instead stood back as Fried leaped out the door and was devoured by an egg of pink energy. The egg hatched and Fried exploded from the shell four times large than he had been previous, enough for Caro to jump out of the helicopter and secure herself between his shoulder blades. Once the last of the soldiers had left, Vice quickly turned the helicopter away from the area, skillfully dodging laser fire from the Cyber-mores.

With Vice no longer within their firing range, the Cyber-mores turned on the free-falling soldiers. The augmented Grimm turned their shoulder mounts on Teana's unit and charged up to fire when Caro and Fried suddenly dived in between them; the white dragon took out less than half the group with its jaws and talons. Cyber-mores evaporated into nothingness as usual for dead Grimm, but their cybernetic parts still remained after they were gone, proving that they weren't natural.

As the Cyber-more flock scattered in fright, Teana turned in the air and fired off multiple rounds of energy bullets from both pistols, shooting down several of the augmented Grimm with unbelievable accuracy. Both Penny and Sora followed her lead, unloaded their weapons, and started shooting down the cyborgs; Penny's built-in targeting system helped, but Sora lacked the skill to shoot down more than ones (and that one had already been clipped by Teana). But when Sora looked over his shoulder and down, he couldn't help noticing that the ground was getting awfully close.

"Uh…Teana!" shouted Sora, trying not to let the panic spill into his words.

"Subaru!" Teana gave a short order.

" **Wing Road!** " cried Subaru.

The tomboy skater braced herself, clenched her hand into a fist, and slammed it down, seemingly striking an invisible surface. A long, wide strip of light-blue energy appeared underneath Subaru's knuckles, stretching into a lengthy slope that stopped at the ground just short of the Neo-wolves. Subaru touched down on the energy road with her skates, propelling herself forward, as Sora unfolded Enduring Zinnia in Scythe Mode before following behind. Sun and Erio touched the edges Wing Road, but jumped around to opposite ends, moving in a circle around the cybernetic Grimm. Teana and Penny also landed at the top and remained there while Velvet bunny hopped down the road; Caro and Fried circled the sky picking off the last Cyber-mores.

" **Boost Up: Strike Power!** " called Caro.

The gems on the back of the mages glowed with a bright pink color as the Dragon rider swiped her hand across. Subaru and Sora were coated in thin veils of this same light; Sora immediately felt he had the power to punch down a building – okay, so maybe that was a little exaggerated, but it's how he felt.

Subaru rolled off the energy road and skated straight into the pack with her gauntlet-covered fist pulled back; the twin gears of her weapons grinded against each other, creating sparks. The tomboyish soldier let out her battle cry (" **Knuckle Duster!** ") and drilled her fist into the chest of the first Neo-Wolf, tearing the chest plate armor like paper. The force of the strike not only killed the Neo-wolf instantly, but shockwave that followed blasted away a line of Grimm straight down the middle of the pack and ever exploded a boulder in the path; the cyborg's armor clattered uselessly on the ground. The Neo-wolves growled furiously and stepped closer, but Subaru smirked and suddenly dropped to a kneeling stance. A moment later, Sora came up from the rear swinging Enduring Zinnia in circles along the path Subaru had created. The scythe missed Subaru's hairline by inches, but slashed across the chests of the Grimm surrounding them, slicing apart their chest armor and pushing them back into two divided groups.

Sun and Erio swooped in from the outside of the two groups and dived straight in; Erio leading with his spear and Sun swinging his gun-chaku over his head.

" **Speerangriff!** " shouted Erio.

"I don't have a name for this attack!" yelled Sun.

The engines of Erio's spear ignited with a thunderous roar, driving the redheaded soldier into a high-speed charge into the middle of the pack, piecing through the Neo-Wolves armor with little resistance. When his free touched the ground, Erio allowed himself to be carried with the momentum of his weapon's thrust, cutting a straight-line through the Neo-wolves until he skidded to a stop outside the circle; black mist was wafting off his clothes in the aftermath. The younger spearman stood up with his weapon pressed to his side and his back turned to the augmented monsters, smirking to himself as the beasts thoughtlessly charged at him. One of the Neo-wolves took a swiped at him and Erio causally flipped backwards over their heads. And while the Neo-wolves were following the soldier, they hadn't noticed Sora coming around from the front until the spiky-haired warrior sliced their throats simultaneously with a single swing of his scythe. Erio touched back to ground as the black mist washed away from the field, sharing a high-five with Sora in celebration.

At the same time, Sun landed on the shoulders of a Neo-wolf, pressing the barrel of Ruyi-Bang (or Jingu-Bang) between its eyes, and pulled the trigger. The Grimm's cybernetic mask was blasted to shards, piercing a few of its kindred, as the monkey Faunus flipped backward onto the ground and attached his weapon into its staff form with a small _click._ Sun turned on his toes in a full circle with Ruyi-Bang and Jingu-Bang held out, smacking several Neo-Wolves across the face, twirled the gun-staff over his head, and slammed it down on the ground, creating an orange shockwave that blasted the Grimm off their feet. As the Neo-Wolves started to get back to their feet, Subaru swung around from behind and punched her fist at the air with another battle cry (" **Revolver Knuckle!** ") Sun grounded himself with Ruyi-Bang and Jingu-Bang just before the shockwave washed over them and blasted the Grimm into the air. The monkey Faunus looked over his shoulder and let out an impressed whistle.

"That's some freakishly crazy strength you got there," said Sun. "You might give Yang a run for her money."

"Aw, shucks," said Subaru with a sheepish grin.

" _Goddammit, Subaru!_ " Teana screamed through their comms; the tomboy winced. " _You were supposed to eliminate them, not send them flying. Now Major Polendina and I have to make sure none of them escape!_ "

"Er…my bad," said Subaru.

" _We're going to have a serious talk about this when we get back to base,_ " said Teana severely; Subaru looked like she was about to cry. " _Oh all the irresponsible…ugh…_ _ **Cross Fire Full Barret!**_ "

Sora, Erio, Subaru, and Sun turned their heads up in time to witness a barrage of possibly more than a dozen orange lasers shoot across the sky, accurately shooting their the Neo-wolves' necklines without a single shot going to waste. The soldiers on the ground cheered.

"Awesome shot, Tea!" said Subaru jubilantly.

"You're still getting a lecture later; Subaru whined.

What had started out with three dozen Neo-wolves and a swarm of Cyber-mores had soon dissolved into only a handful of the cybernetically-enhanced monsters left standing scattered along the tree line. Their new augmentations seemed to make them more intelligent beyond their base instincts; they were staring down the strike squad, assessing the situation and knew that they were out of their depth. The few remaining Neo-wolves and Cyber-mores quickly turned tail and fled. But they never made it past the tree line as Velvet suddenly dropped down from her hiding place in the canopy, wielding a solid-light bow with a light arrow pulled back on the drawstring. The rabbit Faunus guided her sight to the middle of the group and shouted:

" **Usagi ga waga teki wo kurau!** "

Velvet released the drawstring and the arrow exploded into a flash of cocoa-brown energy, which took the shape of a large, cartoonish bunny rabbit with teeth like a shark. The augmented Grimm was so stunned by the sheer ridiculousness of the attack that they remained rooted in their spot as the monster rabbit glided over and chomped their faces off. The Grimm faded into nothingness as the monster rabbit rubbed its belly with a satisfied smile before it too vanished into the void.

"Where did you learn to do that?" asked Sun as Velvet joined the group.

"I thought your semblance couldn't let you copy other people's special abilities," said Penny.

"If you had asked about my Japanese story, I might have told you," said Velvet, crossing her arms and turning her head with a pout.

"You're not gonna let that go, are you?" said Sora blandly.

"Stars 04 to Long Arch," said Teana to her comms. "Area is secure. The threat has been neutralized. Requesting air evac."

"Whaddya think it is?" asked Subaru, crouching down to the exposed metal plating. She tapped her knuckle on the surface; it responded with a resounding _clang._ "Sounds big. Think it's some kind of secret underground base?"

"That's for the Executive Office to decide," said Teana, cutting off communications with headquarters. "Vice will be back to pick us up in ten and the Enforcers will be here in fifteen, so let's clean up the area to make sure there isn't anything that might interfere with their investigation – "

"Tea, behind you!" Caro screamed from above.

The moment the words left her lips, a shadow jumped out from the brush outside the team's line of sight and made a dive for Teana; they had managed to overlook one Neo-Wolf that had separated from the rest of the pack.

Everything moved as if it were in slow motion. Teana turned her head over her shoulder with her eyes wide and her mouth open in a silent scream; her fingers fumbled with the handle of his pistols and inadvertently ended up dropping them on the ground. The team moved in unison to her defense – Subaru took the lead with Sora close behind her – while Caro and Fried dived down at max speed. But in the time it would take to reach her, the Neo-Wolf would already rip her open with its metallic claws. The mechanized monster swiped its hand down and Subaru screamed her best friend's name –

A flash of yellow light zipped by; the Neo-Wolf's severed hand flailed through the air before its non-mechanical parts dissolved into empty space. A pink bullet shot over Teana's shoulder, pierced through the Neo-Wolf's mask, and threw the augmented Grimm back before it faded into black smoke.

Everyone suddenly stopped in their tracks at a loss for words as to what just happened.

"That was a close one," said a new feminine voice. "One second too late and we might not have made it in time."

"Good thing Hayate called us when she did," said another female voice.

Everyone pivoted in the direction of the noise and saw two women floating down from the sky and touched ground; Subaru let out a squeal of joy that seemed very uncharacteristic for her appearance.

Both women looked quite young, very close to reaching their twenties but not quite there yet, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with one another. The woman standing on the right was slightly taller than her partner with silky, golden-blonde hair draping down her back tied by a black ribbon near the end and wide burgundy eyes. Her uniform as very military styled: official-looking navy blue jacket accented by the billowing white cloak hanging over her shoulders, a multi-layered metal gauntlet on her left hand, and black stockings with metallic boots. The weapon in her right hand look like a black metal axe on a long steel pole ("It's called a Bardiche," said Penny.)

Standing next to the blonde was a kindly-faced woman with vivid auburn hair tied to her left side into a long, sideways ponytail and shimmering ocean-blue eyes that made Sora feel safe and comfortable, like when he was around his mother. As opposed to her partner: the auburn-haired woman's uniform was very informal. The theme color was mostly white with blue accents; a dress that ended in a skirt just past her thighs, complimented by a long waist cape, decorated with blue outlines and red jewels. Her small jacket had puffed out shoulders and thick arms (seemingly for extra padding) with blue and jewel-studded wrist guards along with black, fingerless gloves. And like her partner, she wore white stockings and wore sneakers stubbed with blue opals. Her weapon of choice was a scepter with a golden arc surrounding a large ruby jewel.

"Nanoha! Fate! You made it!" Subaru shouted gleefully.

"How're you even here?" asked Erio, both shocked and joyful.

"Hayate was worried that you kids might run into some trouble out here," said Fate calmly. "So she sent out an emergency message. We aborted our current mission and came here straight away. It's a good thing we did, too."

"I was careless," said Teana depressingly. "If I had done a better job watching the area, I would have seen that Grimm and you wouldn't have had to save me. You even abandoned your mission to come rescue me. I'm so incompetent…."

"And incompetent person wouldn't have wiped out all those Grimm with such a detailed and well-coordinated plan," said Nanoha, walking over and setting a gentle hand on the gunner's shoulder. "This was the first time you've ever been out in the field and you did an amazing job. No plan even fully survives contact with the enemy, but you assessed your teammate's skills and found the perfect combination to achieve victory. So you let one Grimm get by. That doesn't make you any less capable. No one is perfect, especially not me. So don't be too hard on yourself, Tea."

"Th…thank you…Nanoha," said Teana in a small voice, smiling.

"Well, we know who are trainees are," said Fate, turning to the group. "But we have no idea who the rest of you are."

"Oh, I'm Sora," said Sora, offering his hand. "This is Sun, Penny, and Velvet. General Schnee asked us to talk to Hayate about some stuff."

"So you're the hero that's been shaking up the universe," said Fate teasingly, shaking the boy's hand. "My name is Fate Testarossa, Executive Officer and Riot Force 6 captain."

"I'm Nanoha Takamachi," said Nanoha, stepping up and shaking his hand as well. "I'm a captain too, but my main line of work is Tactical Combat Instruction. It's a pleasure to…meet…you…."

The white-garbed Mage trailed off on her sentence, her eyes suddenly becoming focused on Sora's hips with a bewildered expression in her eyes. Fate followed her partner's line of sight and let out a small gasp. Sora blinked at their strange attitudes, also looking down to see what it was that had them so out of sorts. All he could see was Enduring Zinnia, which was folded into its stand-by mode and strapped to his belt.

"That scythe…," said Nanoha slowly. "It looks different…but that's definitely it…. How did you…?"

Whatever Nanoha had to say was drown out by the sudden gust of wind that kicked up around them and the repeated beating of helicopter blades. Vice the pilot had come back and shouted for everyone to get inside so they could make their way back to base. Teana, Subaru, Erio, and Caro followed their instructions and boarded the aircraft in an orderly fashion while Penny, Sun, and Velvet just jumbled into the copter trying to reserve the best spot for themselves. Sora hesitated to join them for a moment, staring up at the captains and wondering what they were going to say about his scythe. When it became apparent that neither of them was going to speak of it any further, Sora hopped on board the helicopter and reached for one of the grips before Vice took off.

Nanoha and Fate lagged behind as they watched the helicopter disappear over the tree line, turning to one another with reluctant looks in their eyes.

"I'm not crazy, am I?" Nanoha asked Fate. "That was definitely Crescent Rose, right?"

"Sure looked like it," said Fate, nodding. "But why does Sora have it? Ruby loved that scythe as if it were her own child…. Say, Nanoha, I know we promised that we wouldn't say anything, but don't you think we should tell…?"

"When Ruby came to us last night, she made asked us not to tell anyone she was here," said Nanoha shortly. "I don't know what Ruby is doing on Mid-Childa or why she doesn't want anyone to know where she is, but the least we can do for her is respect her wishes. After all, if it wasn't for Ruby and her teammates, you might not be standing here today and Hayate might never have survived the Boom of Darkness incident. We owe it Team RWBY."

"Yeah," said Fate, sounding somewhat reluctant. "But I just have a bad feeling about all this…."

"Let's not try to think of it too much," said Nanoha, offering a small smile and touched her shoulder gently. "C'mon, Fate-chan. Vivio probably misses her mamas already. She's such a crybaby – she get's that from you, ya know."

"Wha – she doesn't – I'm not a cry baby!" yelped Fate, puffing out her cheeks tinged red with embarrassment.

Nanoha laughed out loud as she took off into the sky, followed behind by her fuming partner.

* * *

 **Please, read and review.**


	20. StrikerS, Part 2

**Chapter Nineteen: StrikerS, Part 2**

The flight back to Riot Force headquarters had been short, but enjoyable as everyone recounted their victory over the Grimm less than an hour ago. It had been the smoothest and most coordinated the assault the team had ever pulled, Penny would say constantly, complimenting Teana's leadership skills while subtly hinting that Sora, as the self-imposed leader, should be taking notes. The spiky-haired boy stuck his tongue out at her immaturely. Sun and Subaru were reenacting their favorite parts of the fight in the bad of the helicopter under the applause of Erio and Caro while Velvet tried to tell her Japan story (she was wholly ignored). And as Sora looked out the open door, feeling the wind brushed through his wild mane, he watched in awe of Nanoha and Fate flying through the sky, matching the speed of the copter with ease. Despite having visited multiple worlds by now, Sora had only known one other person capable of flying unsupported, and she had been trying to kill them at the time. The boy from the islands wondered if he would ever learn to fly…hey, he could dream, couldn't he?"

Vice the helicopter dropped them off on Riot Force's sweeping lawn, gave them a two-fingered salute, and flew off. Nanoha and Fate glided down a few feet away as their combat clothing was becoming consumed by glowing lights of pink and yellow energy respectively. With a shimmering _pop_ , both of them battle garbs were gone and replaced by the dirt-brown military uniforms worn by the members of the Riot Force 6 division. More popping noises rang in Sora's ears and the boy turned to the rookies as their combat attire was also exchanged for formal military garb. Must be nice to have the convenience of changing clothes with magic – he's been wearing the same red jumpsuit for months and cleaning it was always a pain, especially when he had no other clothes to change into, much to Sun's amusement.

"Good effort out there, everyone," said Nanoha complimentary. "Especially you, Teana, leading a new team out into the field for the first time with minimal injury and maximizing success. You have a natural talent, Tea. You'll make Enforcer in no time."

Teana looked down, a brush of red tinging her cheeks with a shy smile crossing her lips.

"For those who actually work here," said Fate pointedly, "please remember to fill out your mission statements and turn them in to Rein by the end of the day. Remember to detail everything you know about these new cybernetically-enhanced Grimm. The commander feels that Jail Scaglietti may have been involved in their augmentation given his experience in Combat Cyborg programming and his affiliation with Zeref's Cabal. The Capital Defense Corp will be analyzing the parts used by the Grimm and investigating the excavation site – "

"Wait, the Capital Defense Corp?" sputtered Erio. "Shouldn't the Executive Office be in charge of investigations?"

"Normally, they would," Fate grimaced. "But the Defense Secretary was insistent that his department take over operations."

"But can we really trust someone like Gaiz to take over?" asked Caro, frowning.

"I'm getting the feeling you don't like this 'Gaiz' guy very much," said Sun.

"That's underselling it," grumbled Subaru.

"It's no secret that Defense Secretary Gaiz hates us," said Teana with a noticeable sharpness in his voice. "Riot Force 6 is support by the Dimensional Navy and the Saint Church, which takes a lot of funding away from the Ground Force that Gaiz is in charge of. Plus, Commander Yagami was former criminal ten years ago, but the charges were dropped after the commander volunteered in the Dimensional Navy. Plus there's the fact that Commander Yagami, Nanoha, and Fate are all S-Ranked mages working in the same unit, which could be seen as threatening. He's tried to have us investigated multiple times to shut us down, but Commander Yagami always stays ahead of him."

"I know you all have your misgivings about Gaiz and I sympathize," said Nanoha. "But the Capital Defense Corps has the authority to overtake investigations regarding the safety of Mid-Childa. There's nothing we can do without the threat of being court-martialed. I'm sorry."

"If Scaglietti is involved with this incident in any way," Fate interjected, "then we have the authorization from the TSAB main office to intervene if necessary. So don't give up."

"Well, aren't you the optimistic one, Fate-chan," said Nanoha teasingly. "I remember ten years ago when you were always this mopey little emo girl – "

"Don't go telling them that!" yelped Fate, flailing her arms frantically as the heat gathered in her face; Nanoha giggled amusingly.

"Nanoha-mama! Fate-mama!" a tiny voice called out.

Both women turned in surprise while the rest of the group bended around them for a better look. That girl from Hayate's office with the heterochromia eyes – Vivio, if they remembered right – was running down the sweeping slope of the lawn dressed up in nicer clothes than she was earlier with a couple blonde strands tied up into little pigtail by blue ribbons. Much different than when she met Sora and the others, Vivio was smiling from ear-to-ear with her arms held out enthusiastically and a melodic, joyful laugh that was like little bells. Sora felt a warm feeling in his chest that he could tell was shared by the rest of his team. It's been a long time since they've heard anything as innocent as a child's laughter; it was a welcomed change from the vicious battles they've endured thus far.

"Mama!" called out Vivio happily.

"Vivio!" Nanoha responded with equal joy in her voice.

"It's dangerous, Vivio," said Fate anxiously. "Don't fall, okay."

"Okay – " said Vivio.

A quick second later, she tripped, face-planting into the grass with a small, surprised squeak. Honestly, no one was the least bit surprised – they all did it at least once at that age; Sun was shaking his head with a soft chuckle. Fate, on the other hand, let out a worried gasp and started walking toward Vivio, but then Nanoha suddenly threw out her arm in front to cut her partner off. The brunette had a fixed look in her eyes.

"It's okay," said Nanoha firmly. "The ground is soft and she fell cleanly. She's not hurt."

"That might be true, but…," mumbled Fate.

"Vivio, are you okay?" asked Nanoha, kneeling but maintaining her distance from the little girl. Vivio lifted her head with a tiny whimper, tears threating to fall from the corners of her eyes. "You're not hurt, right? Try your best and stand on your own."

"Mama…," said Vivio tearfully.

"Nanoha-mama is right here for you," said Nanoha encouragingly, holding out her arms to Vivio to come. "Come on, you can do it."

Vivio looked up at the woman, continuing to whimper as the tears started to streak down her cheeks. Sora felt a pang in his chest; he would have picked Vivio up then and there if he wasn't afraid that Nanoha would kill him with her legendary "pink beam of death" as Subaru coined it. Sun seemed to know what he was thinking and settled a hand on Sora's shoulder, shaking his head with a knowing smile. Sun seemed to be behind Nanoha's tough love approach. If Sora didn't know better, he would think that the monkey Faunus was speaking from experience…. Wait…could it be that Sun is a – "

"Come on," Nanoha continued to encourage the girl.

"Nanoha, you can't," Fate argued. "Vivio is still small."

Before the brunette mage could get a word in edgewise, Fate ran by Nanoha and rushed to Vivio, plucking the little heterochromia girl off the grass and back on her feet, dusting her off. Vivio spoke Fate's name in a soft whimper that was barely audible and the older blonde gave the girl a sweet smile before picking her up in her arms.

"You need to be careful," said Fate, rubbing Vivio's back gently. "If Vivio got hurt, Nanoha-mama and Fate-mama would be very sad. You wouldn't want your mamas to be sad, would you?"

"I'm sorry," mumbled Vivio.

"Geez," said Nanoha with an exasperated sigh, walking up to her partner and child. "Fate-mama, you're spoiling her too much. Vivio needs to learn how to stand up on her own when she falls."

"Nanoha-mama is way too strict," said Fate with a huff. "Vivio's just a little girl. It's my God-given right as he mama to coddle her if I want."

Nanoha just shook her head amusingly.

"So wait," said Sora, tilting his head in confusion. "Nanoha and Fate are…Vivio's moms. So…how does that work? Is there like some sort of spell or…?"

"She's not really Nanoha and Fate's daughter," said Erio, chuckling at Sora's bewilderment. "Not in a biological sense, at least."

"Vivio is just like Erio and I," said Caro with a soft smile crossing her features. "The three of us don't really have families any more. Erio was taken away from his parents, I was banished from my clan, and Vivio was found wandering the streets all by herself. We were just a bunch of stray orphans with nothing in common. But Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate took us in and gave us a home. They made us feel welcome and taught us to use magic. I don't know where any of us would be if it wasn't for them, but I can honestly say that we are grateful for everything they've done for us, right, Erio?" she asked the boy, who nodded firmly with a proud grin.

Fate set Vivio back on her feet and held her left hand while Nanoha reached down and held the girl's right hand; Vivio giggled happily. They all walked up the sweeping lawn together with the family of three taking the lead. Watching Vivio laugh with unbridled joy as her mamas started to swing her made Sora think of his own mother. The last time he had seen or heard her on the night of the storm, calling him down for dinner, never knowing that it may be the last time they ever spoke again. That had been months ago. Several thoughts were rushing through his head. Was she all right? Was she even alive? Did anyone else from the islands make it to other worlds, or had they been swallowed by the darkness too? Sora held his hands in his head, groaning.

He was thankfully distract from his negative thoughts when they came off the lawn and on to the lot of the Riot Force building, surprised to see that the area was a flurry of activity. Hayate was standing in front of the building with her hands folded behind her back and a dangerous scowl crossing her usually pleasant features while Rein stayed carefully hidden behind her shoulder. More than a dozen armed guards were surrounding a heavily fortified truck barking orders at one another.

"What's going on?" asked Velvet.

"Looks like a prisoner transfer," said Fate seriously. "But who – "

"Look!" yelped Subaru, making everyone jump.

The back of the armored car opened with a roaring creak and the soldiers closest to the door barked an order to the person inside. The man took a single step out into the open and Sora could hear the chorus of shocked gasps and gnashing teeth around him. Doctor Jail Scaglietti walked down the ramp with a calm and pleasant smile, his unkempt purple hair blowing in the gentle breeze and his immaculate white lab coat snapping at his ankles. Despite his wrists and ankles being bound in solid-light chains, Dr. Scaglietti looked like he was being taken for a walk in the park rather than prison lock-up. The criminal scientist turned his head when he noticed the group out of the corner of his eye. His gaze first turned on Fate, to who he gave a confident smile that made the blonde mage clench her free hand. He turned his eye to Sora, who was surprised when the mad doctor nodded at him pleasantly. And then his gaze fell on Vivio with an almost longing sense…. Nanoha dropped to her knees and held her adopted child defensively, glaring at Scaglietti; the doctor gave a small chuckle.

The guards shoved Scaglietti in the back and forced him through the doors, but not before the mad scientist had a chance to give the commander a polite nod of acknowledgement. Hayate narrowed her eyes suspiciously as the guards pushed him further inside and the doors closed behind them. Team Sora and the Riot Force soldiers dashed at Hayate the moment they were gone.

"Hayate, what's going on?" asked Fate immediately. "Why is Scaglietti here?"

"You're never going to believe this," said Hayate, still frowning, "but Scaglietti turned himself in."

"WHAT?!" screamed the crew in unison.

"That's what I said," retorted Hayate calmly. "It was early this morning when Scaglietti suddenly showed up the Bureau's Mid-Childa Ground Headquarters saying he surrenders. Obviously, Ground Headquarters knew that Scaglietti was planning something – the Bureau has been hunting him down for close to two decades now – but they weren't going to pass the opportunity to snatch him up."

"So they brought him here?" asked Teana.

"Defense Secretary Gaiz argued that Scaglietti's incarceration and interrogation should be done under the Ground Force's supervision," said Hayate. "But Gaiz has a questionable history and the TSAB Main Headquarters wasn't going to afford a security risk by keeping him locked up at their Main Ground Office when it's clear that Scaglietti has something up his sleeve. Riot Force 6 was a unit created specifically toward capturing Scaglietti, which is why we were allowed to assign three S-Ranked mages in our division. We are better suited to keep him under watch."

"But you know Scaglietti isn't about to turn himself over without a plan of escape," said Velvet.

"Which is why we need all hands on deck for this," said Hayate with a tone of authority. "Fate, I want you to lead the interrogation. You know Scaglietti better than anyone here. See what you can get out of him. Teana, I also want you present for interrogations. You're aspiring to become an Enforcer, right? Watch Fate work could be a valuable learning experience."

"I – If you think so," sputtered Teana.

"I can help, too," said Sun, puffing out his chest proudly. "I was a junior detective, you know?"

"That's…good," said Hayate, chuckling awkwardly. "We're also going to need to double our security and double our patrols. The base has its own security defense system, but I don't want to take any chances with someone like Scaglietti. Subaru and Erio will lead the ground forces since Vita and Signum are currently away on another assignment."

"I know I'm not military, but I can prove assistance if you need it," Velvet offered.

"We could use all the help we can get," said Hayate, nodding in confirmation. "Meanwhile, I want know to lead the forces in the air. I'm assigning Caro and Fried to your group as well. Penny, I want you to join me in the command center and see if you can't find anything about what it was the Grimm were trying to dig up in Mid-Childa East. It goes without saying that Scaglietti was involved in augmenting those Grimm. If we know what he's after, we know have a clear idea of what he's planning."

"As you command," said Penny.

"All right, people, I want this building under full security lockdown!" shouted Hayate strongly. "No one gets in or out! Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" shouted the group in unison with simultaneous salutes.

"Hey, wait," Sora chimed in. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Oh, you get the hardest job of all," said Hayate, giggling playfully. The military commander walked over to Nanoha, plucked little Vivio out of her mother's arms, stepped in front of Sora, and deposited the little girl in his arms; Sora and Vivio blinked together with obvious confusion. "You get to babysit Vivio."

"….EEEEHHH?!" Sora and Vivio squealed together.

* * *

The interrogation room was small spaced with the only source of light coming from the dangling light; a background all too similar to those only detective movies Sun loved to watch as a teen. Dr. Scaglietti sat in the uncomfortable metal chair with his back straight and his hands folded on top of the metal table, smiling serenely as he did when the soldiers brought him in one and a half hour ago. Fate Testarossa was observing him from the opposite side of the one-way mirror, the mad scientist knew, and he shook his head with a soft chuckle. She was trying to gauge his reaction, contemplate what his plan of action might be. The soldiers had already given him a thorough cavity search looking for any hidden weapons or gadgets and did a full-body scan that confirmed he was one hundred percent the real Jail Scaglietti. There was no conceivable way of him leaving this room unless he was getting help from the outside, but with all the extra security, any attempts on the base would be suicidal.

So why was Scaglietti so calm, Fate wondered.

" – and that's why I should be the bad cop," said Sun, interrupting Fate's thoughts.

"I honestly don't care," said Teana with an irritated groan. "Why does there even need to be a bad cop? Why can't we just do our jobs like normal?"

"Oh, you just don't understand, rookie," said Sun haughtily. Fate didn't need to turn around to know the throbbing vein in Teana's temple was back. "Don't feel too bad if you're a little out of the loop; you're just starting out. Good thing I was a junior detective."

"Emphasis on the 'junior' part," retorted Teana.

"That's enough out of both of you," said Fate. Her voice was soft as ever, but there was an edge to it that made Sun and Teana fall in line. "We're going to start questioning him in a minute, but I need to warn you both. Jail Scaglietti is not only one of the most dangerous criminals on Mid-Childa, but also one of the most cunning. He never acts unless he has thought of ever contingency, which is all the more reason why we should expect an escape attempt. Watch what you say in front of him. He can take your words and turn them against you, or even each other."

"This isn't my first rodeo," said Sun proudly. "I _was_ a junior detective, ya know."

"I swear, if you say that one more time – " growled Teana.

"Enough!" snapped Fate, clapping her hands loudly. "One more outburst from either of you and you're out. Are we clear?" – Sun and Teana nodded – "Good. Let's go in."

Dr. Scaglietti lifted his head when the door to the interrogation room creaked open and leaned back into his seat as Fate stepped in trailed behind Sun and Teana. His posture was even more relaxed as Fate walked around the edge of the table until she was standing directly over the mad scientist, her wine-colored eyes creased into a dangerous scowl.

"Ah, Fate, how lovely to see you again," said Jail casually. "You've grown out of your awkward phase and have become quite a beautiful woman. And an Enforcer at that. Precia would be so proud of you, I'm sure."

"Don't you dare say my mother's name!" hissed Fate, slamming her hand on the table; the metal creased underneath.

"There's no need to be offended, Fate," said Scaglietti smoothly. "Your mother and I were good friends once upon a time. She was the most brilliant woman I ever had the pleasure of working with. So brilliant that only she could complete the experiment of which I lacked the necessary knowledge to finish…like Project F. Of course, I don't need to tell you how that turned out, do I?"

"…Just answer our questions and we can end this as quickly as possible," said Fate after a moment of thoughtful silence. She removed her hand from the table, leaving an impression in the metal, and started walking around the table with her hands folded behind her back. "I suppose the first question would be, what you were doing at – "

"Uh, let me handle this, Fate," Sun interjected. Fate, Teana, and Jail shared the same look of disbelief; no one has ever interrupted Fate Testarossa during an investigation. "Questioning people is sort of my specialty, back when I was a junior detective."

Teana was about ready to pull out her gun, but Fate slapped her hand away before she could reach. And while completely ignoring the two women quarrelling behind him, Sun stood on the end of the table opposite of Scaglietti, leaned forward with his hands pressed on the surface, and stared deep into the scientist's eyes.

"So…tell me, doc?" said Sun in an ominously low tone. "What would you say…is your favorite breakfast food?"

The interrogation room went deathly silent. Jail tilted his head to the side, peeking over at Fate, looking for confirmation on whether or not the monkey Faunus was joking. Teana only slapped her face with her palm. This was gonna be a long night, she thought.

* * *

Velvet walked around the perimeter of the Riot Force headquarters for the third time that evening, her eye scrutinizing over every detail from the automatic security system and the guard formation, making corrections with Nanoha's permission. The route ended at the sweeping front lawn just a ways from the front entrance, which was being guarded diligently by Erio and Subaru while under the eagle-eyed protection of Nanoha, Caro, and Fried circling from above. Velvet's gaze went higher as the crimson and gold skyline turned to shades of violet and midnight-blue. The sun was setting over the forest of skyscrapers and giving way into the night. Despite the millions of lights, the stars with spectacular clarity, twinkling like diamonds in the dark background; Mid-Childa must have figured out the answer to light pollution, Velvet assumed.

"This is Velvet calling in," said Velvet, touching the communicator in her lower set of ears. "Other than a minor opening in the south-eastern wall, the defensive line is in top form."

" _Hmm, have the guards move in closer to south-eastern wall without stretching themselves thin_ ," said Nanoha over the communicator. " _We don't want to give Scaglietti any chances._ "

" _You really think he's going to make an escape attempt?_ " asked Erio. " _He was probably expecting to be locked up in the Ground Force's Main Office, so he might not have planned anything when he was transferred._ "

" _We can't afford to run the risk,_ " said Nanoha. " _Scaglietti is extremely dangerous. I don't want anyone getting hurt because I – we were careless._ "

"I'm not going to lie to you right now," said Velvet, cautiously looking left and right over her shoulder, "but I'm really starting to have a bad feeling about all this. Not to sound like a cliché movie reference, but it's quiet tonight – too quiet for my liking. It reminds me of what happened fourteen years ago, on the night of the Vytal Tournament before The Fall."

" _How did that turn out?_ " asked Subaru curiously.

"It's called 'The Fall', Subaru," Velvet answer dryly, staring blankly in the skater's direction. "What do you think?"

"… _Right…my bad…_ ," responded Subaru uneasily.

The rabbit-eared Huntress shook her head with a heavyhearted sigh and decided to continue walking around for her fourth patrol around the premises (it was important to make sure that none of the guards were slacking off). Velvet was being earnest when she said the night reminded her of that horrific day fourteen years ago. The night had been calm and peaceful just like this one when she and her team had been sitting in the stands cheering for their underclassmen, wanting put the events of the previous night (events orchestrated by the enemy) out of their minds. That night…she had to watch Penny literally fall to pieces…becoming the catalyst to that horrible night…when –

Velvet slapped herself across her cheek; the flare of pain snapping her out of those dreadful thoughts. What happened in the past can't be changed. And besides, Penny and Pyrrha were fine now, so it all turned out well enough despite the circumstances.

She walked around the eastern wall of the base, catching two guards leaning against the wall until they saw her and snapped in attention, when the rabbit Faunus looked back up to the sky. Fried was still gliding in circles around the headquarters with Caro settled between his shoulders, but Nanoha looked less attentive, which came as a surprise as Velvet expected her to be more diligent in her duty. The white-clothed age seemed to be staring off to the opposite end of the base, towards the dormitories. Velvet touched the communicator in her ear.

"Are you still with us, Captain Takamachi?" called Velvet.

" _Huh?_ " sputtered Nanoha; Velvet saw her swivel uncertainly in the air. " _Oh, yeah, I'm still here._ "

" _Are you okay, Nanoha?_ " asked Caro worried. " _You seem a little…distracted._ "

" _Yeah, it's just…well, it's silly, actually,_ " said Nanoha, shaking her head. " _I was just thinking about Vivio. This is around the time when the both of us and Fate-chan would be having dinner together. I hope Sora sees the omurice I made for her, and makes sure she brushes her teeth before she goes to bed…. Like I said, it's silly. I've only been a mother for a couple of weeks and I might as well be planning her college fund._ "

"You found Vivio on the streets, right?" said Velvet, turning the corner to the south wall.

" _Actually, Teana and I found her on our day off,_ " said Subaru. " _We were just riding through the city on Tea's bike – Tea has a bike, you know – and we almost crashed when Vivio walked out of an alley. She was so dirty and wearing rags for clothes. There was no way we were just gonna leave her there!_ "

" _We tried looking for Vivio's parents,_ " said Nanoha, " _but we couldn't find anything about her. The TSAB is usually up-to-date on everyone living on Mid-Childa, but we couldn't even find a birth certificate. It's like she just appeared from nothing. We're starting to think she might have been from one of the worlds destroyed by the Grimm and was carried through the Ocean Between to here._ "

"Just like Sora," hummed Velvet. "Guess those two have a lot more in common than they thought."

* * *

Sora sat on the couch of Nanoha and Fate's modest shared apartment, storybook in hand while Vivio was sitting at the coffee table in front of him, taking spoonfuls of the omurice Sora found on the counter and correctly assumed was Vivio's dinner. Babysitting wasn't exactly Sora's ideal way of spending the evening, especially when all of his friends were outside working security detail, but he suppose that someone needed to watch Vivio while everyone was busy. And considering he was the youngest and least experienced, it was probably for the best Sora conceded. Not to say that he wasn't enjoying his time with the little girl – far from it, in fact. The little bundle of energy with her unwavering smile and tinkling laughter made Sora feel lighter than he had been in weeks. He had spent so much time drowning in Grimm, super villains, and conspiracy theories that he had almost forgotten that such innocence could exist in the world. In some ways, Vivio reminded him of himself and his carefree days on the islands with Riku and Kairi.

" – the big bad wolf was about to gobble Little Red Riding Hood up, but she made one terrible mistake," Sora read aloud, flipping to the next page. "Little Red was a trained warrior with a deadly mechanical scythe…. Wait, what? I don't remember that being in the original story. Where'd she get a deadly mechanical scythe in the middle of a forest? And this that a gun?"

"Yeah," said Vivio absently. "It's not a good story. Fate-mama calls Red Riding Hood a 'Mary Sue'. What's a Mary Sue?"

"You're guess is as good as mine, Vi," said Sora, flipping the page. A loose page fluttered out of the book and fell on the floor. Sora picked it up; it looked different from the rest of the story book. "Hey, what's this?"

"Oh, I found that yesterday outside," said Vivio, turning around to look at it. "I didn't know where it went, so I put it in one of my books, but I forgot about it."

"This looks like a page from Akari's book," said Sora, suffering the page in his jacket. "Maybe I can drop this off at Glynda's – Vivio, what are you doing?" he said suddenly.

"Er, uh, nothing," said Vivio in feign innocent voice while not-so-discreetly pulling her plate out of Sora's view.

"Vivio…," said Sora in a warning tone, moving off the couch and sitting next to her. The heterochromia girl had taken the peppers out of her food and put it off to the side. "You know that's not good. You have to eat your green peppers too."

"Aww, I hate bitter things!" whined Vivio.

"You and me both, Vi," said Sora understandingly, patting her on the head. "But if you don't eat properly, you won't get big and strong like your mamas. And I'll bet Nanoha would be sad if you didn't eat everything after she went through the trouble of making your favorite."

Vivio let out a long, almost agonizing whine as she stared down at the tiny, bitter vegetables as if they were the devil itself. Then, closing her eyes and grumbling some more, Vivio scooped the peppers and eat them all in one bite. The heterochromia bit her lip and her face scrunched up; Sora had to slap his hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud at the spectacle. She was acting like she had been asked to drink rat poison, Sora sniggered. Vivio made another face and, with an overdramatic and audible gulp, swallowed the peppers. She whined again and stuck out her tongue in disgust; Sora's whole body was shaking, but he was keeping himself under control.

"G-good job, Vi-Vivio," said Sora, working hard to keep a straight face. "I think…I think that's enough for tonight. Why do you go brush your teeth and get ready for bed?"

"Okay!" shouted Vivio all too eagerly and zoomed to the bathroom faster than Sora had ever seen a child move.

When he heard the faucet turning and the water running, Sora leaned back against the couch and stared out through the room's wide windows. He could see Nanoha's outline silhouetted in the moon, joined occasionally by Fried and Caro's shadows.

"Wonder how Sun's doing with interrogation?" Sora said aloud.

* * *

Not good – not good at all.

Fate walked back into the interrogation room with two mugs of steaming-hot coffee, passing one off to Teana, who looked ready to pull her hair out at any moment. She had been glaring daggers in the back of Sun's head for the better part of fifteen minutes, her glares becoming sharper with each insipid question that poured from the monkey Faunus' mouth. Scaglietti, for his part, looked like he would rather be tortured than having to endure Sun's personal form of interrogation, which was a method of torture in and of itself. The rogue scientist leaned forward with his head in hand hands while the Faunus sat opposite of him with his legs propped up on the table, somehow coming to acquire a notebook upon which he jotted down his observations.

"So let's go over the facts," said Sun, flipping through the pad. "You're favorite breakfast food is eggs benedict – very fancy. You're favorite color is purple – very magic-y. You're not a fan of X-Ray and Vav – very suspicious. You've never owned a pet – very sad. And you never once stole from the cookie jar, which I find very hard to believe. You're a tough man to crack, Dr. Scaglietti."

"No, you're just marvelously dimwitted," groaned Scaglietti.

"Is there a point to all these stupid questions?" asked Teana exasperatedly.

"I'm building a psychological profile," said Sun like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Oh, sorry, it must have gone over your head, since you're still a rookie and all. Good thing I was a junior detective."

"…I want to kill him," said Teana in a low voice.

"It's been twenty minutes now and you've shown no progress, Wukong," said Fate impatiently, walking over and slamming her mug on the table; Sun hopped out of his seat fretfully, much to Teana's amusement. The blonde mage rounded to Scaglietti, slapping her hands down with great force, the sound of ringing metal bouncing around the enclosed space. "All right, time to get serious, Scaglietti!"

"Finally," said Scaglietti with a satisfied groan. "Any more of that madness and I was prepared to bite my own tongue."

"I'm not going to play games with you," said Fate fiercely, leaning closer with a heated stare. "What are you doing here, Scaglietti? I've been chasing you and your Combat Cyborgs for the better part of six year, capturing each of your 'Numbers' one-by-one. When the Bureau arrested Nove four months ago, you went underground and stayed out of the Executive Office's sights. We combed through every one of your abandoned bases, but all the data drives had been wiped out. You were covering your track. So after taking painstaking efforts to hide, why turn yourself in?"

"You don't need to explain everything in such unnecessary detail," said Scaglietti smoothly. "I have no reason to lie. Just tell me what you want to say."

Fate leaned in closer, their noses only a foot apart, as Fate's wine-colored eyes stared deeply into Scaglietti's narrowed gold ones, her voice barely above a whisper when she spoke: "You knew you would be transferred to Riot Force 6. So what is it you're after?"

"I simply want to take back what's mine," said Scaglietti coolly. "I'm here to take back my little girl. My darling little Vivio."

* * *

The Riot Force 6 command center was alive with activity. With Scaglietti now in their custody, Commander Yagami had issued an immediate order to round up all the information of the deranged doctor and everything he had ever worked on from his days to the TSAB labs to the present. Men and women carrying varying amounts of paperwork were running in and out of the room, barely missing each other, while dozens of soldiers were typing furiously at the main terminals. And Hayate was overseeing all of it. The division commander stood in the center of the room surrounded by a cocoon of holographic screens detailing containing over millions of data bits that would make even Penny's circuits overload. But Hayate was proving more efficient than any computer. She only needed to take one glance at the screen to process all the information, and then either saved it to a private server folder to further review or discarded it as nonessential. Penny wasn't afraid to give credit to the commander, but she certainly wasn't going to lose out.

The Atlesian Android was connected to the main server through the four cables connecting to the back of her neck and her fingers were flying through the hard-light keys. She was collecting data at a rate three times greater than that of the other workers; being an android had its advantages.

"We're missing personal files from Due and Tre!" shouted Hayate. "There are also several redactions on the Combat Cyborg incident report! I want the original copy immediately! I don't care if you have to go to the Main Headquarters to do it, just get it done! Penny, have the Capital Defense Corps released a statement about the Grimm sighting?"

"They're refusing to disclose any information at this time," answered Penny with a grimace. "The order came from Defense Secretary Gaiz. He's saying that Riot Force 6 has neither the right nor the authority to meddle in their investigations. They are saying they will give a statement to the TSAB Main Headquarters by the end of the week."

"Damn that Gaiz," hissed Hayate, glaring into space. "Penny, is there any way you could – "

"I'm already attempting to hack into the main server," said Penny before the commander could finish. "But it will take some time. Mid-Childan computer security is ten times more sophisticated than anything Atlas can come up with – it's no wonder Cinder Fall was able to hack into our systems so easily. Give me at least an hour and a may be – "

 _ **PING!**_

"Oh, a new message just came in," said Penny, peeking to the digital envelope in the corner of the screen. "It's from…Carim Gracia, Knight of the Saint Church."

"Carim?" Hayate sounded surprised. "What does it say?"

"Wait a minute," hummed Penny, clicking on the envelope and opening a new window on the screen. "Let' see…it says that one of the clerics from the Great Cathedral has recently confessed to aiding Scaglietti in stealing one of their ancient relics. The cleric admitted that he was seduced by one of Scaglietti's Combat Cyborgs disguised as a church member convinced him to steal it."

"Never thought of Scaglietti as the religious type," said Hayate suspiciously. "What did he take?"

"It's called…the Shroud of the Saint King," said Penny. "It doesn't appear to have any magical properties, but it is said to contain samples of blood from the last Saint King."

"Samples of blood…," said Hayate thoughtfully. Then he eyes went wide as realization struck her. "Wait a minute…"

* * *

Fate slammed Scaglietti into the wall, brow furrowed with contained fury and her breath coming huffs through her gnashing teeth. The sudden action startled her partners; Sun actually jumped into Teana's arms, who promptly dropped the Faunus on the floor. But Scaglietti, on the other hand, maintained his cool composer despite having Fate's hand in a vice grip around his throat.

"Come now, Fate, you're scaring the little ones," said Scaglietti amusingly.

"How do you know about Vivio?" asked Fate seething, slamming him into the wall again. "TALK!"

"I told you, she belongs to me," said Scaglietti, which did nothing to ease the blonde's grip on his jugular. "Well, technically speaking in a sense of property ownership. I, of course, wouldn't be bothered to have children of my own – much too noise and takes up too much time that could be spent with more important things."

"You're deflecting, Scaglietti," hissed Fate.

"Not at all, Fate," said Scaglietti. "I am telling you exactly what you want to hear. At this stage, there is no point in keeping my plans secret. You see, Vivio belongs to me in the same sense that you belonged to Precia, Fate. You and Vivio do share the same origins."

"…Project F," whispered Fate with a sudden realization. "Vivio's a clone."

"That sounds like an oversimplification of the process," said Scaglietti, actually rolling his eyes, "but for the sake of the others in the room, let's go with that. Yes, Vivio is a clone, but not any clone. I wouldn't have bothered spending large qualities of credits and materials just to create a child unless she served a grand purpose. Of course, there was also the matter of perfecting the process. Thank goodness for Precia Testarossa and her brilliant mind. If it wasn't for her, I never would have figured out where I went wrong with Project Fate, and my plans would have fallen apart. After Precia took her own life, I managed to procure her notes and spent years preparing the procedure. Once the experiment was ready, all I needed was the necessary sample. That's why I had one of my Numbers infiltrate the Grand Cathedral."

"The headquarters of the Saint Church?" said Teana, raising a brow. "What could you possibly need from there?"

"The Shroud of the Saint King, which is said to have the blood of Olive Sägebrecht upon it," said Scaglietti proudly. Fate and Teana shared a look of horrified realization while Sun just looked between them confused. "I see you managed to put the pieces together. Yes, it's true. Vivio is the reincarnation of the last Saint King, Olive Sägebrecht, and the key to unlocking the Belkan Empire's greatest weapon, the Saint's Cradle."

"That's the warship that was said to end the decade-long Unification war in a single night," Teana answered to Sun's unspoken question. "Legend has it that the Saint's Cradle was a weapon of last resort and that only those of the Saint King lineage would be able to activate it. But in order to power the ship…the pilot must be willing to sacrifice their own life force. When the Unification War ended, the Saint's Cradle disappeared – " she looked to Scaglietti " – until now. That's what the Grim were digging up in Mid-Childa East, wasn't it. You found the Saint's Cradle!"

"You're name was Lanster, was it not?" said Scaglietti, tilting over Fate's shoulder to look at the gunner. "She's a perceptive one, Fate. She would certainly make an excellent addition to the Executive Office."

"You're never getting anywhere close to Vivio," said Fate firmly. "We have you surrounded by the best agents in the TSAB. No weapons, no machines, no Combat Cyborgs. You're trapped, Scaglietti."

"Your commander said it herself, didn't see?" said Scaglietti knowingly. "I would never risk arrest without a backup plan."

* * *

In the lowest level of the Riot Force 6 headquarters, nestled inside the maintenance room and hidden between the jungle of pipework and machinery, a strange device was planted firmly in the back. The device was small and clamped to the wall behind the water heater; the face plate had a blaring-red digital timer that was counting down.

 **3…2…1…**

When the timer reached zero, the device did not explode like a bomb or create any damage to the building, but released a short, nearly invisible pulse of electrical energy that reverberated through the walls and traveled through the pipes. The pulse wave carried through the lower levels of the Riot Force base and tried in every direction simultaneously, including the command center. When the energy wave passed over them, the Riot Force personnel flew into a panic as everything from the lights to the computer monitors to their personal devices suddenly went dead. Hayate let out a surprised gasp as the cocoon of information flicked out of existence and she watched her subordinates scramble between terminals, slamming their keyboards and some of them even diving underneath their desks for the power outlets.

"What happened?" shouted Hayate.

"We were hit with an electromagnetic pulse, commander!" said her second-in-command, Griffith Lowran, with a dedicated salute "The source of the attack is unknown, but it appears to have come from inside our own base. Everything in the base has been temporarily shut down, including our defense matrix, communication relays, and even Intelligent Devices. We're dead in the water, if I'm using the term properly."

"How long will it take to have systems up and running again?" asked Hayate.

"Ten minutes at best," said Griffith Lowran.

"You have five!" said Hayate, leaving no room for objections. Griffith had none; he saluted and dashed back to the terminals. "Penny, what is the status – Penny?!"

The Atlesian android was slumped over her seat, twitching sporadically, the cables in her neck sparking in the terminal slots. Hayate hurried around her desk and ripped the cords out of the computer before gently settling Penny on the floor. It was difficult to see anything since the lights had been shut off, but the Riot Force commander could tell that Penny's eyes were wide open, but devoid of any signs of consciousness.

* * *

The EMP wave breached to the outside, passing over the soldiers that surrounded the complex. Their weapons suddenly devolved into their standby states; Erio's spear, strangely enough, transformed into a blue wristwatch on the redhead right arm. Even Velvet's projector started to spark, causing the rabbit Faunus rip it off and toss it down when the weapon started smoking. When the pulse passed over Nanoha, the young woman became alarmed as her combat clothing was swapped for her military uniform and her staff devolved into a red-jeweled necklace. Without the support of her Intelligent Device, Nanoha started to fall toward the roof, which was roughly fifteen feet below. Thankfully, Fried swooped underneath and the Riot Force captain landed securely on the dragon's spine behind Caro.

"Nanoha, what's going on?" asked Caro worried, flashing her jeweled bracelets. "Kerykeion just went into standby mode."

"The same thing happened to Raising Heart," said Nanoha, referring to her necklace.

"Caro! Nanoha! Help!"

Looking down beyond the dragon's wing, they spied Erio on the ground waving his arms over his head frantically then pointed to the ground next to him when he caught their attention. Subaru was lying on her back, her arms and legs twitching sporadically while Velvet was kneeled over her, searching her up and down for wounds that Nanoha knew weren't there. Caro pointed to the ground and Fried glided down, landing on the pavement next to them with a dull thud; Nanoha jumped off the dragon's back before it had even touched the ground and ran over to her loyal subordinate. The older mage sat on her knees, gingerly raising Subaru's head onto her lap.

"Subaru, what happened?" asked Nanoha with concern. "Are you injured?"

"It's my cybernetics," said Subaru with a grimace. "They just stopped working. I can't move a muscle."

"All our electronic devices have been shorted out," Velvet informed them. "It must have been an electromagnetic pulse – I remember Atlas used to build EMP bombs to shutdown rogue machinery after what happened to their Knights during the Fall. The lights, the communicators, even our weapons – all of them have been temporarily shorted out. Think Scaglietti planted the EMP so he could escape?"

"Scaglietti has been closely monitored since he arrived," said Nanoha thoughtfully, "there was no chance for him to plant an EMP anywhere in the base. And I don't think Scaglietti's plan was to simply escape. Even if he knocked out all our power, there are still a handful of trained mages who can use magic without Intelligent Devices. That EMP wasn't just meant to shut off our devices…it was meant to shut down our bases security matrix! Riot Force 6 is completely exposed to outside enemy attack now! And that means – "

"GRIMM!" screamed one of the soldiers.

At the mention of the monsters, Nanoha shot up to her feet ("Ow!" yelped Subaru as her head connected with the ground) and made a small noise that conveyed both worry and regret. They had no idea where the beasts could have been hiding, but an army of cybernetically-enhanced Grimm started barreling out of the forest; several dozen Neo-wolves darted for the base on all-fours while just as many Cyber-mores were silhouetted in the moon. As they approached the base, their groups started to fan out and surround the building, most of them automatically attacking the soldiers that were giving off the most fear that were helpless to defend themselves.

A pack of brave Neo-wolves turned their hungry gazes on Nanoha's group, taking notice that one of them was helpless on the ground. The cybernetic beast leading the group crouched on all-fours and pounced at the team when Velvet suddenly jumped forward and used a winding kick across the Neo-Wolf's face in midair. The Neo-Wolf landed on its neck with a sickening _crack_ , which was amplified when Velvet landed on its body and pushed the Grimm's head further into its chest. The Neo-Wolf evaporated, leaving its augmentations behind, and Velvet dropped down in a crouch, looking around at the monsters with a challenging glare.

The Neo-wolves started to step forward, but were suddenly pushed back when a blur of yellow light zoomed in front of them, knocking them back by several paces. Erio dropped in front of Velvet in a combative stance; arcs of electricity gliding over his body. Not a moment later, a fireball vaulted over their heads and landed on top of the Grimm, smothering their deathly-black fur in flicking flames; the beasts howled and started to roll around the ground. Velvet turned her head over her shoulder at Fried (if the dragon's smoking jaw was evidence enough) then to Nanoha, who had summoned a cluster of glowing pink orbs around herself with a motion of her finger. The Riot Force captain pointed at the Grimm and the Grimm, and a small number of the orbs separated from the cluster, shooting across the lot and piercing through the Grimm's forehead with amazing accuracy.

"Our magic may be weaker without our Devices, but we're still strong enough to hold them back!" shouted Nanoha. "Hayate will likely have the power up in a few minutes, so try to hold out until then!"

"Captain, the Grimm are starting to climb the walls!" one of the soldiers called out, pointing to the beast ascending the base.

"Those Grimm," said Nanoha, taking note of the direction they were headed. "Oh no, they're going after – "

* * *

When the light suddenly went off in the interrogation room, Sun let out a girlish scream and jumped into Teana's arms; the gunner immediately dropped him…again.

"What happened to the lights?" yelped Sun in a panic. "I can see anything!"

"This is Star04 to Long Arch, come in," said Teana, tapping the communicator in her ear. Her only response was loud static. "Long Arch, do you copy? Captain Takamachi, please respond. Commander Yagami? Rein? Subaru? Ugh…it's no good. Communications are down. I can't get in touch with anyone."

"What did you do, Scaglietti?" hissed Fate, still keeping her grip on the doctor's neck.

" _I_ didn't do anything," said Scaglietti smugly. "But instead of worrying about me…you should be more concerned…about them…."

When the words left his lips, the wall behind them suddenly exploded inwards, flinging Fate over the table and slamming both Sun and Teana against the one-way mirror, cracking the glass. Shaking the temporary dizziness, the three interrogators pulled themselves up with trembling groans and turned back. The moonlight spilling from the hole illuminated the dark room. Scaglietti was nowhere to be seen (most likely walked out while they were disoriented) and three Neo-wolves were climbing in through the wall, snarling hungrily. Fate and Teana reached into their pockets and pulled out a golden triangle and a steel card respectively.

"Bardiche/Cross Mirage online!" Fate and Teana shouted in unison.

Nothing happened. The pair of investigators looked down at their items in mild shock. The Neo-wolves pounced over the table in their distraction, swiping their metallic claws across their chests, when Sun suddenly jumped between and deflected the blow with Ruyi-Bang and Jingu-Bang in staff form. The monkey Faunus pushed the claw away, twirled the staff weapon expertly in his hands, and started beating back the cybernetic Grimm in a flurry of strikes. Sun pushed the Neo-wolf back until it fell on its back on the table, then kicked the side of the furniture to send it sliding through the hole, knocking another Neo-wolf out of the room in the process. While the last Neo-wolf watched its brother plummet several stories to the ground, Sun disconnected his staff and fired off one of the shotguns at the Grimm's head, watching it explode before the headless body plummeted back to Mid-Childa.

"Our weapon systems have been knocked out," said Teana. Sun huffed; at least show a little gratitude, thought the Faunus. "The whole base is probably dead."

"Hayate will get the power back online soon enough," said Fate. "I'm worried about Vivio. You heard what Scaglietti said: he wants to take her away. This whole situation was set up to distract us while he made off with her. We need to find Vivio quickly!"

"Relax, he's with Sora," said Sun comfortingly. "He might not look like it, but he's capable of tackling a few Grimm. Everything will be fine."

* * *

"Everything is not fine!" screamed Sora.

Sora flipped backwards over the coffee table as he shouted, holding Enduring Zinnia in his left hand while bracing Vivio to his chest with the right. The heterochromia girl let out a squeak as another Cyber-more swooped into through the hole in the window, curved into the air, and dived at the children with its pointed beak. The scythe master stomped down on the edge of the coffee table to flip the furniture on to its side. The Cyber-more's beak broke punctured the wood, but the augmented avian couldn't pull itself out and started flapping its wings frantically. Sora sliced Enduring Zinnia through the coffee table, beheading the cybernetic Grimm. Sora didn't wait around for the Grimm to dissolve as two more Cyber-mores and a Neo-wolf started climbing through the window. The spiky-haired islander pivoted on his foot, made a run for the door, kicked it down on his way out, and started running down the hallway at nearly supersonic speed.

How did this happen, Sora asked himself. He had just finished helping Vivio get changed and was about to put her to bed when the lights suddenly went out. At first, he thought it might have been one of those power surges that Penny usually had when he and Sun stressed her out, but then a Cyber-more suddenly smashed through the window and made a dive for Vivio. Sora was thankful his reflexes had been improving since he took up this journey or else he might not have whipped out Enduring Zinnia in time.

As they were running through the hall at breakneck speed, Sora looked out the windows on the side while Vivio buried her face in his chest. Hordes of Grimm were coming in from the forest. The Riot Force soldiers were trying to hold them off, but none of them seemed capable of using magic on the same level as Nanoha and the rookies; Velvet, at the very least, was holding them off in hand-to-hand combat. Part of him wanted to go down and help them, but Vivio was his main priority. If he could get her to Hayate –

"Monsters!" screamed Vivio, pointing ahead.

Sora looked forward. A group of three Neo-wolves were clogging up the hallway, turning when they heard the little girl cry out. Sora didn't slow down and instead rushed straight into the pack with steely eyes. The closest of the cybernetic wolves swiped its claw around to them, but the scythe wielder dropped to his knees and slid underneath the arm, slashing his weapon in an arc that sent the Grimm limb flying down the hall. He shot back up to his feet and turned on the balls of his feet as he moved toward the second Grimm, slashing Enduring Zinnia across its throat. He jumped over the third Neo-wolf's claw, stepping on the monster's face to smash its visor, and landed safely behind it. Sora didn't stop to confront them again; he took off down the hall while the Grimm were recovering.

"You okay, Vivio?" asked Sora soothingly. The girl made a small voice and nodded in his chest. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you. We'll get you to Hayate and then – "

 _ **BANG!**_

Sora never saw it coming. He was turning around the corner headed for the command center when something moved out of the corner of his eye and slammed him square in the face. The force of the impact instantly shattered his thin aura barrier and knocked him flat on his back; Vivio tumbled a ways, landing hard on her knees and elbows. Vivio bit her lip as tears threatened to spill from her eyes, her joint throbbing painfully as she stared back at her guardian to come help her. But Sora's eyes were closed shut, head lolling sideways and his breathing shallow. He was alive, but he wasn't waking up soon.

The attacker stepped over him and approached Vivio. The last thing she could remember before the stranger hit her in the back of the neck was how his silvery hair glimmered in the moonlight.

* * *

Back in the command center –

"Our forces are being overrun outside!" shouted Hayate, slamming her hands on her desk in frustration. "How long until we're back online?"

"Power is almost restored!" Griffith called back. "We should be back online in three…two…one…"

A loud whirring sound echoing inside the walls of the room and, graciously, the florescent lights above flickered turned on with a satisfying _click_. The command center was filled with jubilant and triumphant cheers as the holographic monitors flickered to life. Hayate heard another whirring noise from behind her and saw with deep relief that even Penny seemed to be returning to them. As much as the Riot Force commander would have liked to know if the android was damaged in any way, she needed to prioritize on the immediate threat at hand.

"Reactivate the defense matrix!" commanded Hayate urgently. " Restore all power to basic artillery, then focus on the perimeter barrier! Transmit reboot codes to all remained soldiers Intelligent Devices!"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" the soldiers shouted together.

They were being backed into a corner; the Grimm greatly outnumbered the soldiers and now many of their security force had fallen victim to the augmented beasts. They tried to fight back with whatever spell or technique they could muster, but the fact remained that the EMP had crippled Riot Force 6 to a severe degree. Nanoha stood at the front of her remaining forces, which consisted of Erio dragging Subaru's limp body to through the front doors and Velvet covering for the eleven remaining soldiers scrambling toward the entrance. Fried and Caro were providing cover fire from the air, but they were constantly harassed by the Cyber-mores. Nanoha shot down another dozen Neo-wolves through their heads, but for every Grimm she killed, two more seemed to take their place.

"We can't hold out much longer!" shouted Velvet, dropkicking one Grimm before sideswiping the next. "We need to fall back to base!"

"The base has already been compromised!" yelled Nanoha, shooting another Grimm through the neck. "We don't know how many have made it inside, but the least we can do is try to keep more from getting in until Hayate gets the defense matrix back online!"

"But we don't know how long that'll – " Velvet started.

Before the rabbit Faunus could finish, the outdoor lampposts flickered to light, bathing the lot its incandescent glow. The Neo-wolves and the Cyber-mores stopped moving all together, some of them looking around in surprise; this was clearly never part of their plan. And just as suddenly, a cacophonous alarm screeched throughout the Riot Force base, sending the augmented monsters into a panic as the computerized female voice blared through the loudspeakers:

" **INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! HOSTILE LIFEFORMS DETECTED! INITIATING AUTOMATED DEFENSE DRONES!** "

Magical circles made from white energy popped into existence all over the lot and several more appeared in the skies circling the base. Metallic silver spheres with neon-red eyes materialized from nothingness over the magical circles as the Grimm started to recant away from the strange machines. They didn't get very far, however, before the defense drones whirled to life, gathering energy in their eyes, and bombarded the cybernetically-enhanced monsters in a shower of laser fire. The Grimm had no chance to retaliate; the drones swooped over the battlefield by the dozens, greatly outnumbering them and slaughtering in an efficient and meticulous fashion. Even the ones that attempted to escape beyond the boundary of the Riot Force base were not spared as the drones chased them down until their targets were eliminated.

Nanoha let out a sigh of relief and fell to her knees; it felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"It's over," said Nanoha tiredly, tilting her head back. "We're safe…."

"That was way too close," said Velvet, falling on her butt next to the captain. "We lost a lot of men out there, but we managed to hold our ground long enough. Erio and Caro are fine, and Subaru's cybernetics should fix themselves soon enough…. So how do you think Scaglietti did it? Planting the EMP, I mean? Like you said earlier, he's been monitored the whole time, so there was never a chance for him to do it himself."

"Scaglietti planned it all out," said Nanoha thoughtfully, "but he couldn't have done it alone. The EMP came from inside the base itself. Our defense matrix would have caught any unauthorized intruder sneaking in before it happened, which means whoever planted the bomb would have been someone that was granted access."

"You think there's a traitor?" asked Velvet suspiciously.

"I don't like to think that one of our own would have turned on us," said Nanoha, frowning. "But it's the only thing that makes sense. But Hayate selected each member of Riot Force 6 personally; I have complete faith that not a single person here would have sold out to Scaglietti. Which means that…."

Nanoha's voice trailed off as she passed a sideways glance to Velvet. The rabbit Faunus didn't need to hear it to know what the captain was thinking…. Sora, Sun, Penny, and Velvet were total strangers, which made them very suspicious in her eyes. If Velvet hadn't been so insulted, she might have agreed with her. But before the rabbit Faunus could argue in her defense, the communicator beeped in Nanoha's ear.

"Fate-chan?" said Nanoha, touching the communicator. "Fate-chan, have you - ?"

" _Nanoha, Scaglietti got away_!" shouted Fate frantically over the earpiece. " _He's after Vivio! I searched the bedroom, but I can't find her or Sora!_ "

The captain let out a terrified gasp as she jumped to her feet, heart pounding against her ribcage. Her daughter was missing…. Velvet, whose strong sense of hearing caught the conversation, shot up and opened her mouth to offer her help, but she was blinded by a flash of pink light that radiated from the woman. When the glow died down and her blurry vision cleared, Velvet found the spot empty and the front doors to the base busted down.

Nanoha as flying a hundred miles a minute through the hallways, knocking down everyone and everything that was in her way; Rein was haphazardly tossed into an empty vase before she could move out of the way. She didn't even stop to apologize to anyone – her thoughts were obsessively on searching for Vivio. She searched every room on the first three floors from the gym, to the cafeteria, to the medical bay, to the little playroom that Hayate built especially for Vivio. But her adopted daughter was nowhere to be seen. So when she zoomed up to the fourth floor and turned the corner toward the command center, Nanoha stopped in her tracks and felt her heart fly up into her throat.

She found Sora lying on the floor in the middle of the hall, unconscious, Enduring Zinnia flung far from his hand. Under any other circumstance, Nanoha would have lifted Sora to the medical bay and had Shamal patch him up. But her daughter's life was in jeopardy; she didn't have time for niceties. She grabbed Sora by the shoulders and started shaking him roughly, shouting loudly in his face.

"Sora, where's Vivio?" asked Nanoha frantically. "Sora, for the love of God, where is my little girl?"

The spiky-haired boy made a groaning noise and blearily started to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was the terrified look on Nanoha's normally brave and firm face and it made his heart clench knowing the reason why she looked so upset. Unfortunately, his body was still weak and his eyes were starting to get heavy as unconsciousness started to take him again. Before he blacked out, he managed to utter a few short words:

"They…took her…. Vivio…she's gone…."

And then there was darkness.

* * *

 **Please read and review.**


	21. StrikerS, Part 3

**Chapter Twenty: StrikerS, Part 3**

A cloud of gloom rolled over the Riot Force 6 headquarters as the sun began to peek over the horizon, spilling forth deceitfully hopeful rays of reddish-blue colors. After a long and arduous night of fighting, the augmented Grimm swarms had been eradicated, leaving only bits of broken machinery littered all over the grounds (Hayate made a quick order to collect the machines for investigation). But despite their hard-earned victory, no one was in the mood to celebrate, especially not Sora.

He sat in a seat on the far side wall of the commander center, hands folded in his lap, staring miserably at the floor, as Doctor Shamal wove the bandages around his head. According to the doctor, since his aura absorbed the majority of the blow, the most he suffered was a mild concussion, and recommended he take a brief rest from any physical activity. Sora wasn't about to argue; he didn't feel like doing much of anything after what happened last night. Doctor Shamal quickly finished up with Sora and moved on to her next patient, Fate, who was nursing a deep gash in her left side, obviously putting on a brave face.

Sora watched the doctor tend to Testarossa passively, slowly allowing his eyes to wander around the command center. Hayate was at her seat in the center of the room, answering calls and filing reports faster than any supercomputer could accomplish, but her eyes had lost their cheery gleam (not that Sora could blame her; she had lost half her men in the attack). A technician had been brought in to examine Penny and Subaru's artificial limbs to make sure they were in working order and the EMP bomb had left no residual side effects. Erio had his arm wrapped around Caro's shoulder near the front, consoling her. Velvet sat at a desk opposite Sora, pushing her glasses back up while she worked at repairing her box with intense focus. Everyone looked so tense and were avoiding each other's gazes, knowing there was nothing they could say that would make things better. It was a terrible loss, Sora knew as he clenched his hands together. Riot Force 6 was in shambles – Scaglietti escaped custody – Vivio was –

The whole room jumped and turned as Fate slammed her fist into the wall, pressing on the stone with enough force to build a spider web of cracks. The blonde mage was clenching her teeth, seething, and Sora was sure it had nothing to do with Shamal suturing her wound.

"We had him right here," hissed Fate; her body quivered in suppressed anger. "He was literally only feet away from me…and I let him escape. He escaped and…. Vivio…why did it have to be her? She's only a little girl. How could that monster take her away? If I had only been a little faster – "

"There was nothing you could have done, Fate," said Hayate, speaking in a cold, indifferent tone. "Scaglietti had planned everything from the start. He knew where Vivio was and manipulated the Bureau into bringing him straight to our doorstep. He had the Grimm waiting just outside our borders ready to strike the moment we lost all power. He calculated for every possibility and outsmarted us in the end, all thanks to this," she stated disdainfully, throwing down a broken device on her desk. "The EMP bomb that wiped out our systems. One of the custodians found it in the boiler room behind the water heater."

"Technical staff said it had a one-hour timer before it went off," Rein announced over Hayate's shoulder.

"That's around the same time Scaglietti was escorted to interrogation," said Fate, leering. "I've been watching him closely since he first arrived and I can vouch that he never had the chance to plant the bomb himself, which means…someone else did it for him."

The command center drifted into an uncomfortable silence; everyone in the room moved visibly slower and not-so-subtly started sending suspicious glances at one another. Sora understood the weight of Fate's words. She was implying that someone in Riot Force 6 – maybe even in this very room – was a traitor. It did seem like the only possible conclusion, but the way that Fate was glaring at him, Velvet, and Penny, the blonde mage seemed to be under the impression that one of _them_ had sold out to Scaglietti. Despite Sora feeling insulted by the silent insinuation, he couldn't fault her – he _was_ the reason Vivio was taken. As a concerned parent, Fate had every reason to blame Sora -

Hayate jumped out of her chair and slammed her hands on the desk, making everyone jumped.

"Whatever any of you are thinking, stop it right now or I will hold you all for insubordination!" shouted Hayate sternly. "This is exactly what Scaglietti wants: to turn us against each other! Instead of passing blame around, we need to plan our next move!"

"And what is our next move?" asked Velvet, pulling away from her weapon.

"We go after Scaglietti, shut down the Saint's Cradle, and rescue Vivio – simple as that," said Hayate plainly.

"Riot Force 6 is in no condition to be implementing a full-scale military operation," said Teana, frowning. "Half of our forces were killed during the attack, and the other half is too critically injured to carry out missions; Shamal says they'll be in recovery for weeks. The only people fit to operate are the Forwards, Nanoha and Fate, Sergeant Granscenic the helicopter pilot, and Sora's team."

"And me!" Hayate added firmly. "Scaglietti instigated an attack on my base, hurt my subordinates who trusted me to keep them safe, and kidnapped my goddaughter! Jail Scaglietti has just declared war on everyone here at Riot Force 6 and we have to show him that there is a price to pay for angering the strongest soldiers in the Time-Space Administration Bureau! We'll be breaking a lot of rules, and central headquarters will no doubt be breathing down my neck, but we need to strike back before Scaglietti can activate the Saint Cradle and use it against Mid-Childa! I want every available body gathered in the lobby for mission briefing in ten minutes! We're going after that bastard and saving Vivio! Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" everyone shouted in unison; the soldiers saluted their commander.

"Rein, fly down to communications and see if you can get a hold of Carim at the Saint Church," Hayate said to the fairy. "See if you can find any details about the Saint Cradle. Any layouts or structural weaknesses that we can use to our advantage."

"Yes, ma'am," Rein saluted and floated away.

"Fate, come with me," commanded Hayate. "We need to discuss strategy."

The blonde mage shot one last dirty look to Sora before hobbled after her commander. Sora let out a deep breath, locking eyes with Penny and Velvet, both of whom shared sympathetic looks for the boy's plight. The wielder of the scythe searched the command center, hoping for some advice from the only other man on his team, when he realized with a look of surprise that the monkey Faunus wasn't even in the room.

"Hey, has anyone see Sun?" Sora asked aloud.

* * *

She knew should have been inside helping repair the base and assisting the wounded, but Nanoha just wanted to be alone right now. She had wandered thoughtlessly until she came to the Riot Force headquarters' rooftop, leaning against the railing on her elbows and staring blankly off into space as the wind gently blew against her face. She was holding a photograph between her fingers in a death grip. It was a picture she had taken last week when she and Fate had come home from the adoption agency earlier that day and announced with glee that Vivio the lost child had become Vivio Takamachi. She and Fate had sat on the couch in their living room with Vivio sitting between them; their larger hands holding Vivio's tiny ones while Nanoha leaned her head on Fate's broad shoulder; all three of them were smiling into the camera. Nanoha had been so happy since she and Fate first became friends –

Nanoha nearly choked on her own breath; she made a shuddering noise in the back of her throat and her eyes felt like they were burning. The white-clothed woman pressed the picture into her breast, wishing for the stabbing pain in her chest to stop. Why…why did this have to happen to a sweet little girl like Vivio? She had done nothing wrong. She didn't deserve to be ripped away from the only home she had ever known to some madman with delusions of conquest. So what if she was the reincarnation of some all-mighty mythical deity – she was Nanoha's little girl before anything else!

The rooftop entry opened with a soft squeak and Nanoha looked over her shoulder, surprised to see Sun stepping outside.

"I figured you be here," said Sun, closing the door behind himself and joining her at the railing. "After I searched your apartment, the cafeteria, the nurse's office, the computer room, the armory, the basement, the garage, the forest, all the women's restrooms – don't tell penny about that – and the designated meatball room, I knew you'd be up here."

"Sounds like you were just wandering around hoping to get lucky," said Nanoha with a smirk.

"Pretty much," Sun admitted humorously; Nanoha giggled. "Thinking about Vivio?"

"Yeah…," said Nanoha slowly, staring down at the picture again. "I've only know her for a few weeks, but it feels like a piece of heart has been ripped out of my chest."

"Whether it's a few weeks or a few years, it's natural for every parent to get worried about their kid," said Sun wisely, patting her on the shoulder. "It's kinda scary when you think about it. You have this…fleshy little thing that depends on your to survive and you know that every decision you make could determine its entire life. And there's never an easy way to raise a kid. Do you be strict? Do you try to be nice? Do you try to find some middle ground? Is there ever a right or wrong time to do something? And if you do, how would it affect them in the future…. I swear, parenting is harder than fighting off an army of Giant Nevermores with both hands and legs tied together while blindfolded."

"You sound like you're talking from experience," said Nanoha, sounding surprised.

"I kinda am," said Sun, smiling softly. He reached underneath his jacket and started riffling around. "Here, I wanted to show you something. I always carry it with me just so I don't forget. Now where the hell is – ah, here it is."

The monkey Faunus whipped out a photograph like the one Nanoha was carrying, holding it out to the white-clothed mage. Nanoha took the picture gently, as if afraid she might break it, and looked at the surface with an inquisitive and somewhat astonished expression. The picture showed Sun in an Atlesian military uniform (the jacket was naturally open to show off his abs) shooting off a wide, toothy grin at the photographer while his arm was wrapped around the shoulder of a beautiful woman with mocha skin with short, navy-blue hair and a golden sun bindi on her forehead topped off by a blue beret. The woman had a smaller smile than Sun, but there was genuine happiness in her eyes. The woman was holding a little boy at her hip, who had one hand hold the woman's shirt and another waving at the camera. The child looked like an exact copy of Sun with his golden-blonde hair and bushy monkey tail, but he had the woman's skin color and sky-blue eyes.

"They're beautiful," said Nanoha is a hushed voice. "Is this your family?"

"Yep," Sun said proudly. "That's my wife, Ciel Soleil. She as a commander in Atlas. She's pretty strict and doesn't stand for lateness, not even for a second. All honesty, I'm still shocked she said yes to a lazy slob like me. And that's our son – we named him Sol. He's a little mischief-maker just like his old man."

"And I bet he's just as scared of his mother like his old man," said Nanoha teasingly. Sun threw back his head with a laugh like a howler monkey. "You all look so happy. Don't you miss them?"

"Every single day," said Sun, taking back the picture that Nanoha offered. "I know that Ciel can act tough, but she really get worried when I'm not around. And it sucks knowing that my boy is growing up without his old man there with him. But every day I remind myself that the reason I'm out here risking my life, traveling to different worlds, and fighting monsters is because I know every fight we win make the world a little safer for them to live in. When this is all over and the Grimm finally gone, I want to take Ciel and Sol on a vacation of the best worlds in the universe, like Midi City or even Mid-Childa. I bet Sol and Vivio would be best friends in no time. "

"I have no doubt about that," said Nanoha, looking at Faunus admirably. "You're a good father, Sun."

"And you're a good mother," Sun argued. "You might not think it now because you feel like it's your fault that Vivio was kidnapped, but the fact that you're worried about her is proof enough how much you love her. Any good parent would do the same."

"Vivio must be so scared right now," muttered Nanoha, pressing her own photograph harder into her chest. "She's probably crying right now, begging for me and Fate to come rescue her…. And I'm just sitting here feeling sorry for myself. I should be doing something other than just wallowing in my own pity. I need to save my baby!"

" _We_ will save Vivio," said Sun reassuring. "It's as much our fault as it is Scaglietti's for letting them take her; I know Sora definitely blames himself. I swear to you, Nanoha, we will save your daughter no matter what."

The bureau captain allowed herself to genuinely smile for the first time since last night, feeling that maybe – no, definitely – they would be able to get back her little girl.

" **Will all available personal please report to the main lobby?** " Rein's voice suddenly called over the loudspeakers. " **Repeat, will all available personnel please report to the main lobby? We are now in level-5 emergency alert! Anyone that can still fight must report immediately! This is not a drill, people. Under Commander Yagami's orders, Riot Force 6 is declaring war!** "

"Hayate really like go over-the-top in these sorts of situations," said Nanoha with a hint of mirth. "Going to war, really?"

"Sounds fitting to me," said Sun, offering his arm like a gentleman. "So, Nanoha-mama, ready to go save your daughter?"

"Absolutely, Sun-papa," said Nanoha, joining her arm with his.

* * *

Ten minutes had come and gone in the blink of an eye. Over three dozen men and women were lined up in rows of six standing in attention, and the remaining two dozen soldiers that couldn't stand were offered seats and wheelchairs. Sora was honestly surprised that so many people had showed up for the meeting as he stood in the front row between Fate and Teana. Most of them were dressed in varying layers of bandages ranging from eye covering to amputation clothing; a good number of soldiers looked deathly ill and Doctor Shamal could be seen running between the lines nursing those who were showing worse symptoms. But the one thing they all had in common was the look of steely determination in their eyes. Hayate was standing in the front of the lobby with her hands behind her back, her shoulders squared, and a cold, cynical glare that looked out of place on her sweet face. As Rein floated to the front near her commander, Nanoha and Sun walked out of the hallway and took a place near the front lines.

"Now that everyone's here, we can get started," said Hayate with an authoritarian edge in her voice. She nodded to Rein, who pressed a button on her tiny tablet, bringing up a holographic image of Scaglietti's wanted poster. "I don't think anyone needs to be reminded of what happened last night, let's recap. Scaglietti – or someone working for him, at least – planted an EMP detonator in Riot Forcer 6 that knocked out our power and left us defenseless against the Grimm invasion. We all suffered terrible losses last night, but we don't have time to mourn. Scaglietti escaped in the confusion and he took Vivio with him – "

"That son of a – " shouted one of the soldiers.

"Please don't interrupt!" snapped Hayate; the soldier looked down meekly. "Thanks to Captain Testarossa's interrogation, we know what Scaglietti's planning – " Rein pressed another button on her tablet, bringing up a picture of Vivio " – Years back, one of Scaglietti's operatives infiltrated the Great Cathedral and stole a very important artifact known as the Shroud of the Saint king, rumored to contain dried blood samples of the last Saint King, Olivie Sägebrecht. Apparently, the rumors have been confirmed true. According to Scaglietti, the combination of the Saint King's blood and Project: Fate reincarnated the Saint King into Vivio Takamachi."

The lobby broke out in a flurry of shocked mutterings passed between the soldiers. Many sounded overwhelmed by the revelation and others outright denied the evidence, believing that Scaglietti was lying. Sora had no idea who this Saint King person was, but she was clearly someone very important figure in Mid-Childa. Hayate snapped her finger, causing a quick chill to blow over the lobby that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

"Pay attention – we don't have a whole lot of time!" said Hayate impatiently. "One more thing we learned from Scaglietti's interrogation is that he has become obsessed with the Saint King, or to be more specific, the warship used the by the Belkan royal family: the Saint's Cradle. Legend has it that the Saint's Cradle was used as a massive battleship armed with mass-based weaponry that was only to be used as a last resort. We all know the story of how Olive Sägebrecht was the last Saint King to use the Saint's Cradle to end the Unification War overnight, but died as a result due to the ship needing the life force of the royal family to power up."

"But wasn't the Saint's Cradle lost?" asked Caro. "Before she died, the Saint King hid the Cradle so that no one else would use it."

"Apparently, Scaglietti found it," said Teana begrudgingly. "Remember those Grimm that were digging in the Mid-Childa East forest? Turns out, they were digging up the Saint Cradle."

"Which means we don't have a lot of time," said Hayate. "With Vivio and the Saint's Cradle, Scaglietti has everything he needs to wipe out Mid-Childa and the Time-Space Administration Bureau. We've already issued a report to central headquarters, but it'll take time for them to gather up out force. Even they do manage to call in every available warship in the fleet; the Saint's Cradle is too powerful to combat. From the report sent to us by the Saint Church, not only is the Saint Cradle capable of magical bombardment, precision sniping, ship-to-surface strikes, and dimensional-crossing attacks, but the exterior of the ship is equipped with an anti-magilink field, making all magic-based attacks useless."

"Then how are we supposed stop it if we can't even scratch it?" asked Penny.

"The exterior of the ship is heavily fortified, but the interior is not," answered Hayate. "Rein, bring up the schematics Carim sent us."

"Yes, ma'am," said Rein with a salute.

The fairy woman fiddled with her tablet once more and the two holograms of Scaglietti and Vivio vanished before a wide, detailed blueprint appeared in their place. The schematics offered two points of view: a side view detailing all twelve levels of the warship, and a top down view showing the placement of the exterior armaments and size measurements. Hayate pulled out a laser pointed and directed them to the diagrams.

"As you can tell from these plans, the exterior of the ship is specifically designed for multi-warfare combat," said Hayate, swiping the laser to the top-down view. "The hull alone is equipped with fifty-six anti-aircraft gun port lasers, enough to wipe out an entire army. But there is a blind spot," she added quickly to the soldier's downtrodden looks. "All of the cannons are directed toward the front of the ship, leaving the rear bottom of the Cradle exposed. That's where we make our point of entry."

"The plan is simple," said Rein. "The Commander will be leading the majority of our available forces into a frontal assault against the Saint's Cradle to draw their fire. Since the ship is coated in an anti-magilink field, we'll be supplying our troops with mass-based ammunition. Teana, Velvet, and Caro will be field captains in the commander's unit because you're all long-distance fighters. Meanwhile, a special unit will be sneaking into the back of the ship unnoticed."

"Once you're inside, you will be divided into two teams: Team Alpha and Team Omega," continued Hayate. "Team Omega will assigned with destroying the Engine Drive near the stern of the ship. Even if we rescue Vivio today, there will always be a risk of someone else making another attempt later on. If we destroy the Engine Drive, the Saint's Cradle will lose its only power source, thereby rendering it useless. Members of Team Omega will be Sun, Erio, and Sora lead by Penny. Team Alpha, meanwhile, will infiltrate the Throne Room – "

"And rescue Vivio," said Nanoha seriously.

"Basically," Hayate confirmed. "Team assigned for Alpha will be Nanoha, Fate, and Subaru – "

"I wanna go!" Sora interjected. Hayate turned to him with her brow raised while other looked at him like he had grown three heads – no one ever had the balls to interrupt Hayate when she was in 'Commander Mode'. "It's my fault that Vivio was caught in the first place. I wanna make up for that. Please, give me a chance to fix this."

"…Fate, you'll be leading Team Alpha," said Hayate, looking to her old friend. "What's your opinion?"

"Hmm…," hummed Fate, staring down the spiky-haired boy with a critical eye. "He doesn't have a lot of experience…and it _was_ his fault Scaglietti managed to get away with Vivio." Sora hanged his head shamefully. Though she was visibly frowning, Fate caught her life partner giving her _that look_ and let out a deep sigh. "But…if you're serious about correcting your mistake…I guess the best thing to do would be to let you help."

"I swear, I won't let you down!" said Sora resolutely.

"All right then, Subaru, you're being reassigned to team Omega," said Hayate.

"Yes, ma'am!" said Subaru.

"That should summarize the basic outline of our plan," said Hayate as Rein wiped away the holograms. "I don't need to tell you what's at stake here. Scaglietti may be in possession of the most powerful weapon in the history of the universe and we're going in with no backup, limited ammunition, dozens of wounded soldiers, and our entire plan hinges on the success of only a handful of people. If we fail today, not only Mid-Childa, but every world will under the control of Jail Scaglietti. We cannot let that happen! This is the very reason why our division was created! Even if it takes our dying breath, we will put an end to Scaglietti's plan and rescue that sweet little girl! Are you with me, men?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" the lobby echoed with a unified chant.

"Riot Force 6, move out!" Hayate shouted, joined by the chorus of roaring soldiers.

* * *

The sound of multiple propellers beating through the open air rang in Sora's ears through the open side door, the rushing wind gusting against his face and sweeping through his spiked hair. A familiar sea of greenery rolled beneath them while the skies around them were crowded by the tight formation of less than a dozen military helicopters. As Hayate had issued, Riot Force 6 was attacking in full force, bringing every able bodied member they could, all of them armed to the teeth with non-magical bullets, wide-range missiles, and something called incendiary grenades. They were expecting to cause any damage, but it would sure annoy the hell out of Scaglietti. Sora poked his head out of the door, peeking at the helicopter directly to their right. Teana was loading her pistols with physical bullets while Velvet summoned one of her constructs (a giant rock cannon) and Caro rode on Fried's nape as the white dragon glided alongside them.

Sora pulled back inside and looked around the cabin at his own team. Subaru was flexing her fingers anxiously, looking over her glove with a deep frown on her face. The tomboy blamed herself for not being able to help last night when the EMP knocked out her cybernetic limbs and relied on everyone else to keep her safe. Subaru clenched her fist tightly; she had not going to let it happen again. Erio was sitting in the back of the copter with his spear resting on his shoulder, bouncing his leg up and down restlessly until Fate sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. The black-garbed mage offered him a small, reassuring smile, wrapped her arm around his shoulder, and brought Erio into a tender embrace. Sun, Penny, and Nanoha were more-or-less impassive. They had seen their fair share of warfare and this was just another battle for them, albeit a very important battle. Nanoha seemed to sense Sora's gaze on her as she looked over, but the scythe-wielder quickly lowered his eyes, still filled with a deep sense of shame.

The door to the cockpit opened and stepped inside, steadying herself against the swaying vehicle. The commander had forgone the crisp and clean military uniform and replaced it with her own battle attire. A black mini-dress with golden brackets running down the middle, a pair of golden plates at her hips holding up a dark waist cape, a white coat with black metal cuffs and fingerless gloves, and a white balmoral cap topped askew on her head. She carried with her a long staff tipped with a golden cross made of very sharp blades bound together by a golden ring.

"We've just entered the Mid-Childa East forest!" shouted Hayate over the copter blades. "ETA is six minutes! Prepare to mobilize!"

"Yes, ma'am!" was the unified response.

"Sora," called Nanoha, stepped closer to his side. "Are you all right? You sure you're up for this? It's not going to be like your other adventures."

"It's not about whether or not I'm up for it," said Sora strongly. "It's about making things right. I let Vivio – "

"Stop right there," Nanoha interrupted. "As much as I'm sure you feel like beating yourself up, you need to get out of that mentality. We're going into a very dangerous area and we need everyone to focus on the objective." Sora stared down at the floor, nodding slowly. "That being said, you're not the only one responsible Sora. We all think we could have done things differently, but the fact remains that what happened, happened, and there's nothing we can do to change it. So instead of thinking about the ways you failed, think about the ways you can succeed. Like rescuing Vivio."

"Yeah…yeah, I guess you're right," said Sora, his lips forming a small smile. "I tripped and fell, so I need to learn to stand up again."

"…are you using Vivio's accident from yesterday as a metaphor?" asked Nanoha with a blank stare.

"Uh…," stammered Sora.

Sora thankfully was saved from saying anything when the helicopter started shaking violently. Sora was suddenly jerked forward into Nanoha, but the white-clothed mage held the younger boy by the shoulder before he could fall over. The same could not be said of the others; Sun and Subaru flew forward into the middle, colliding their heads, and then had the misfortune of having Penny's heavy body dropping down on top of them. Fate kept her arms securely around Erio trying to steady themselves and Hayate gripped the frame of the cockpit door, leaning inside and shouting to the pilot:

"What's happening?"

"Atmospheric turbulence!" cried Vice, gritting his teeth as he attempted to straighten the controls. "Monitoring systems are picking up heavy readings of mana in the area! I think it's – "

"Up ahead!" yelped Hayate, pointing forward through the window.

Sora, Nanoha, and the others in the back of the helicopter lean out through the open side doors, peering against the rushing wind into the distance ahead. Thick, heavy clouds of dirt-brown dust begin to climb toward the sky as the ground beneath the grasslands started to rise like a mountain, ripping thousands of centuries-old trees up by their roots and throwing them aside. Heavy waterfalls of dirt splashed back down into the forest until…something glimmered in the sunlight, nearly blinding the heroes. When the last of the offensive soil was brushed away and the mechanical beast that rose from Mid-Childa was swept inexplicitly clean, Sora finally understood why it was considered the most powerful weapon in this universe's history. To call the Saint's Cradle massive would be a sore understatement; the ancient warship was a behemoth of gold and cobalt plating the size of a whole city; the roar of its engines sent shockwaves through the air that rattled the helicopter fleet.

No one said anything, whether inside the copter or over the radio – everyone was awestruck by the sheer scale of the Saint's Cradle – but Hayate quickly snapped out of her stupor when she spotted something flashing along the side of the warship. The commander narrowed her eyes in focus…then let out a huge gasp, wrestled the controls from Vice, and sharply pulled sideways; Sora and the others were nearly thrown out of the vehicle by the sudden motion. But not a moment later, a bulbous red laser shot out of the side of the Saint Cradle, gliding across the air where their copter had been two seconds ago, and hit the helicopter that had been behind them. The heroes leaning out the door watched with horrified looks as the copter – and the men inside – fell back to Mid-Childa in a ball of flaming metal.

"Get you heads out of the clouds; we're under attack!" Hayate yelled through the radio. "Begin evasive maneuvers! The operation is a-go! Unload everything you have on the Saint's Cradle, but maintain a safe distance from the from the anti-aircrafts turrets! Remember, our priority is only to distract them until Team Alpha and Team Omega have infiltrated the Saint's Cradle! I don't want anyone acting like a hero, go it!"

" _ **Yes, ma'am!**_ " called the soldiers in unison.

"I need to go make sure everyone stays safe," said Hayate, walking back to the cabin. "We can buy you five, maybe ten minutes at the most, but you need to get inside before we start losing companions. Once you've successfully breached the Cradle, notify me immediately so I can give the order to fall back."

"We'll be in and out as quickly as possible, Hayate-chan," said Nanoha firmly.

Hayate only nodded as a response and walked over to the open side door, leaning against the edge. She muttered something under her breath and Sora, who was nearest her, jumped back in surprise as six feathery, black wings sprouted from her back seamlessly through her jacket. The Riot Force commander skipped out of the helicopter and took off towards the front of the pack like a speeding missile.

From a distance, every automated turret on the hull of the Saint Cradle turned simultaneously in the direction of fleet, unloading a storm of burning-red lasers. Hayate stopped in the air midway between the assault and the helicopter fleet, swiping her cross-staff back and forth and up and down in a specified pattern with an echoing cry (" **Panzerschild!** "). A thirty foot wide, triangular sigil of purest white energy popped into existence in front of the fleet and deflected the lasers in every direction, even sending some back to their point of origin (the AMF, unfortunately, prevented the Saint's Cradle from being damaged). The Riot Force platoon swooped around the shield and swung around the ancient warship, scattering like flies. All except for one, which held back from the rest of the pack and dropped lower until the bottom was brushing against the treetops.

" _ **Making our way towards the objective**_ ," said Vice over Hayate's communicator. " _ **Just hold out a little, ma'am.**_ "

"Better make it quick," said Hayate as she dropped her shield. "We're not equipped to handle the situation."

As if to prove her point, one of the lasers got lucky and incinerated one of the buzzing copters floating around, sending it careening toward the ground and exploding in a spectacular blaze. Hayate cursed.

Teana was unloading her entire clip above the Saint Cradle while their pilot bobbed and weaved through the laser show, replaced the empty magazines, and repeated he process for the third time since the operation started. This is frustrating, Teana thought. She may as well have been throwing pebbles at it because there was no way her bullets were going to even scratch the surface of the metal hull. If it were from the anti-magilink field, she could have used her specialized shooting magic, which would have done significantly more damage, maybe even test out that new move Nanoha showed her. Teana looked to the rabbit Faunus standing next to her, and watched her solid light construct shoot out flaming pieces of solid light rock, which did little more than make irritating dinging noises in the Saint Cradle's surface. Caro and Fried, on the other hand, were faring much better than either of them – their enhanced mobility allowed them to swoop in and crush the turrets with Fried's claws before they retreated back into the sky. Unfortunately, the process was slow and the dragon rider duo had only managed to take out two turrets so far, meaning there were still fifty-four remaining.

Caro and Fried swung around and flew even with Teana and Velvet's helicopter; the tiny dragon tamer was sweating and panting heavily.

"Caro, are you all right?" asked Teana in concern.

"I've been using magic to enhance Fried's strength and speed continuously since the fighting started," said Caro, stopping briefly for a small cough. "But there's just too many of them. My mana is depleted and Fried's wings are getting tired."

"And all we're doing is dinging up the paint job," said Velvet with a grimace as her construct faded. "Scaglietti's not taking us seriously or he would have been more coordinated in his attack. He probably knows about the ship's blind spot and is keeping a close watch on it."

"Then how are we going to distract him?" said Teana, frowning.

" **Tridents of Poseidon, gather from the sea!** "

Even over the chattering noise of heavy gun fire and explosions, the words still resounded through the air as if spoken by the voice of the gods themselves. With the chanting, bodies of water from the largest nearby lakebed to the tiniest drop of morning dew climbed upwards into the clouds like reverse hurricanes. And floating in the center of the raging torrents, settled on a sigil of white energy, was Commander Yagami with hands folded in pray around the neck of her staff raised towards the sky. Her words continued to echo in the field as her chant grew more powerful and ominous:

" **Sighs of the silver snow, come from yonder! Skein of surges, gather in the sky! HEIMDALL!** "

As the aria came to an end and the last drop of water disappeared behind the clouds, there was long period of silence that passed over the battlefield broken only by the sound of laser fire…. And then the sky began to grow dark, as if something had eclipsed the sun. Teana and the others leaned out of the doors, tilting their heads toward the sky as the clouds were forcefully parted. Both rookies and Faunus' expressions froze in stupefied shock

A compressed mountain of jagged, white ice the size of a meteor ripped through the heavens, pulled towards the Saint's Cradle like it had been tethered to the ship. With the flying iceberg descending upon the ancient warship, the Saint's Cradle's turrets turned their focus away from Riot Force 6 and unloaded a hailstorm of energy bolts at the frozen meteor. The lasers deflected harmlessly off the iceberg's smooth surface like a mirror. Hayate's spell smashed squarely in the middle of the Saint's Cradle hull, creating a thunderous shockwave that nearly knocked Riot Force 6 out of their air; Caro and Fried (now in his miniature form) started falling, but were snatched up by Velvet and Teana. The frozen meteor cracked on top of the Saint's Cradle, shattering into smaller chunks of ice that clattered loudly against the warship's hull, scratching and surface and even puncturing the metal slightly. The Saint's Cradle started tilting slightly on its side, brushed against the forest canopy, but quickly straightened itself out. When the last bits of ice broke away and melted into water once more, Hayate peered from above and spotted the mile-wide crack in the center of the ship. The crack neither deep nor damaging, but she knew Scaglietti would be worried that his "invulnerable battleship" had been made vulnerable.

"That was the strongest spell physical spell I had," said Hayate, touching the communicator in her ear. "If that doesn't get his attention, nothing will. Please tell me you made it inside."

Meanwhile, Vice the pilot swooped around the back of the Saint Cradle to small docking bay, of which the heavy metal doors had been left open. It was obviously a trapped, Sora thought as the seven soldiers hopped out of the copter and he pilot quickly took off.

"This is Fate," said Fate formally into her ear piece. "We've reached the entry point, but there seems to be a change in plans. The blast doors have been left open, meaning we won't have to spend ten minutes trying to break it down, but…

" _ **Scaglietti's planning something,**_ " responded Hayate. " _ **He wanted this rescue mission to happen…I don't like the idea of walking into another one of Scaglietti's traps, but we don't have any other choice. If the Saint's Cradle is allowed to reach full power, Scaglietti will be unstoppable.**_ "

"And Vivio will…," muttered Subaru worried.

"We won't let that happen," said Sun firmly, shooting a meaningful gesture to Nanoha. "We'll save Vivio and kick Scaglietti's ass while doing it."

" _ **This is about as far as we can help,**_ " said Hayate. " _ **The rest is up to you. Riot Force 6, full retreat!**_ "

"Those men and women risked their lives to give a chance," said Fate as she disconnected the communicator. "We can't let everything they've sacrificed be for nothing. Everyone has memorized the floor plans of the Saint's Cradle, right?" – there was a murmur of confirmed gestures and nods – "I don't need to remind everyone what's at stake here. If the Saint's Cradle is allowed to reach the atmosphere and become fully charged, there's nothing in the universe that will be able to stop it. And once it's fully charge…Vivio won't be needed any more."

"Then how about we stop standing around talking about it and actually get some work done?" said Penny impatiently.

"Good call," said Fate. "Team Alpha, Tea Omega, GO!"

* * *

The Saint's Cradle throne room was an expansive chamber most clearly designed to befit someone called the Saint King, from the gilded arches that lines the walls to the intricate, metallic patterns that formed sovereign designs. In the back of the chamber was a long-backed metallic chair that was meant to be designated as the throne of the Saint's Cradle.

Vivio Takamachi was seated in the throne, bound to the mechanical cathedra by metal braces. The Vivio's heterochromia eyes were snapped shut and her teeth gritted through pain; she could feel the Saint Cradle's slowly stealing the life out of her tiny body the further the ancient warship moved, and Hayate's orbital strike sent a brief jolt through her nerves. All the while, Scagleitti stood before a wall of monitors with a wickedly amusing smile, his eyes rolling to and fro between each holographic screen. He watched Hayate Yagami lead the retreat of her division's forces, shielding them from the Cradle's laser fire. He spotted Team Omega headed towards the Engine Drive, coming across a large number of modified Grimm that Scaglietti had left to guard the core. But what held his fascination the most was the team of Nanoha, Fate, and Sora headed straight toward him. Both mothers were flying at blinding speed and Sora was putting in an impressive effort to keep up with them (he was only a couple feet behind the entire way). Scaglietti had purposely left the path to the throne room clear – he _wanted_ them to show up.

"Everything is coming together quite nicely," said Scaglietti with a sinister chuckle. "Yes, come to us. I can wait to see the looks of despair on your faces when you arrive."

"You know overconfidence always leads to the bad guy's downfall, right?"

Like the flip of a switch, Scaglietti's elated grin sharply shifted into an annoyed grimace as he peeked nonchalantly over his shoulder. He shouldn't have surprised that Zeref's little pet would still be hanging around. That Riku boy was standing very close to the Saint King's reincarnation; Scaglietti would have thought the boy might be planning on kidnapping her…again. But he wouldn't dare. As strong as the boy had become in recent days, he still wasn't powerful enough to take on Scaglietti's technomagic.

"You've got what you wanted, Scaglietti," said Riku impatiently as he approached the doctor. "The ship is yours, so give the girl back so I can take her back to Zeref."

"I think not," said Scaglietti shortly. "The Saint's Cradle hasn't reached its full charge. If we were to remove the Saint King at this time, the Engine Drive would start to lose power and then the Cradle would return to its dormant state; that is if those meddling Huntsmen don't destroy the Engine Drive first. Everything we have worked up towards this point would be for nothing."

"No, everything _you_ worked up towards would be for nothing," said Riku, leering. "Zeref told me the stories about the Cradle when I mentioned your plans to him." – Scaglietti visibly frowned at the mention – "He told me that in ancient times, the Saint's Cradle was the ultimate weapon, but the people who used it – the Saint Kings – they all died. If you keep using that girl to power the ship, it's going to kill her."

"And your point being?" said Scaglietti derisively.

"That wasn't what we agreed to, Scagleitti!" snapped Riku. ""The plan was to – "

"I know all about the plan, boy, and I have every intention of carrying it out," Scaglietti interjected. "Just not with Zeref or any of those other fools getting in my way."

"You're planning on betraying Zeref?" said Riku, rolling his eyes and making a scoffing noise. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. You know Zeref isn't going to be happy about this."

"You think I'm worried about some old relic from a forgotten era?" said Scaglietti mockingly. "When I am in command of the most powerful weapon in this universe's history? Of course not, you silly little boy. Zeref may be an immortal with immersive magic, but even he isn't powerful enough to compare to the might of Belka's ultimate creation. Once the Saint's Cradle is fully charged and I have erased Mid-Childa from the stars, I will return to Spriggen Castle and take the other Maidens for myself. Then from the safety of the Cradle, I will finish what Zeref started. I will be the one to see what lies beyond the Threshold."

A loud, repeated clicking noise echoed off the throne room walls. With his brow raised, Scaglietti turned on his heels toward Riku. The silver-haired boy had activated the transformation sequence of his black metal bracelets, expanding them into a pair of shotgun-gauntlets, and struck a fighter's stance while glaring at the deranged doctor. Scaglietti only grinned madly as a response. He withdrew his hands from his lab coat pocket and revealed that he had been wearing his own weapon over his right hand: a long black glove with red lines leading to sharp, bladed nails on each finger. The pair of them stood staring each other down in a classic stand off when –

 _ **THUD!**_

Riku and Scaglietti turned together; the noise resounded from the steel door at the entryway, which had a large indentation in it. Another _**thud**_ rang out and another dent formed in the metal. Then a third _**thud**_ caused the door to come loose on its hinges. Scaglietti smirked to himself and turned back to Riku, who was biting his lip with worry. What horribly bad timing.

"If you don't want your 'best friend' to find out what you're up to, you might want to leave now," said Scaglietti in a condescending tone, chuckling at the boy's dark glare.

 _ **BOOM!**_

The door was blown clear across the room; plumes of choking black smoke wafted through the entryway. Nanoha and Fate glided into the room with Sora skidding to a stop behind them, their weapons presented to show they meant business. The team of three found Scaglietti – and only Scaglietti – standing on the other side of the room with his hands casually in his pockets, looking down over Vivio in a mockery sense of kind affection. The scruffy scientist faced the team with a nonchalant wave of his non-gloved hand.

"Welcome," said Scaglietti pleasantly. "We've been waiting. Thank you for coming all this way, even though it is pointless at this stage. Yagami and her men have already retreated, so there's no point in calling for help. Those four you sent to destroy the Engine Drive won't make it in time before the Saint's Cradle is fully charge, not as long as my army of cybernetically augmented Grimm continues to run interference. And that just leaves…you three. Although, I wouldn't very much consider the boy to be a threat."

"Hey!" snapped Sora.

"Jail Scaglietti, you are under arrest for kidnapping, mass murder, conspiracy against Mid-Chlda, and large-scale disturbance of the peace!" said Nanoha formally with her staff raised to the scientist. "You will cease and disarm immediately!"

"Oh, that is something!" said Scaglietti with a taunting laugh. "You're friends are all in danger, your daughter is in pain, and you're still worried about your job? How nice. That almost demonic sense of justice. You really are a White Devil, isn't she, Vivio?" he said to the girl, creeping his hand towards her face.

He barely heard the sharp hiss between Nanoha's teeth before the woman in white suddenly blasted a beam of pink energy at Scaglietti. When that happened, Scaglietti removed his gloves hand from his pocket and held it up to meet the blast midway, deflecting the magical beam toward the ceiling (Sora bounced out of the way before the rubble fell on him).

"That wasn't very calm of you," said Scaglietti. "I never thought I would ever see the day when the Ace of Aces loses her composure. This truly is a special time."

"Make this easy on yourself, Scaglietti," said Fate fiercely. "Let Vivio go and surrender yourself, or we will be forced to take – "

"You can save your speeches, ladies," Scaglietti interrupted. "I will tell you right now that I have no intention of surrendering myself or the girl. Once the Saint Cradle is finished charging, I will be the most powerful being in the universe. It such a shame, really, that such a perfect specimen has to die for it. This girl – Vivio – fulfills all the requirements necessary to becoming a Maiden. With her and the other five that Zeref has in his captivity, I would only be one step away from opening the Threshold."

"The Threshold?" Nanoha repeated with look that was crossed between shock and incredulity. "The Threshold is just a myth. It doesn't actually exist."

"What's the Threshold?" asked Sora.

"That is not something you need to concern yourself with, boy," said Scaglietti. "Seeing as you will not live beyond this day."

Scaglietti clicked two of his bladed nails together with a resounding _**clang**_. Without warning a whirlwind of multicolored energy exploded from Vivio; her cries of pain and fear somehow amplified tenfold. Nanoha and Fate stood their ground against the gale forces while Sora stabbed Enduring Zinnia into the floor to keep himself from being blown away.

"Let me tell you something interesting about this girl," said Scaglietti, speaking calmly over the raging rainbow winds. "Inside her tiny body lies an energy source that, if honed properly, could potentially overpower every weapon ever created, even Fiore's imposing Etherion cannon. Her magical energy is a unique type that only those of the ancient Belkan Royal Family were able to manipulate. It's called Kaiserfarbe, or better translated as the Colors of the Emperor. By uniting their power with the Saint's Cradle, which the ancient Belkan Royal Family used to alter their own bodies for battle, it is the ultimate bio-weopon. _She_ is the perfect weapon."

"Mama!" screamed Vivio in despair.

"Vivio!" Nanoha called out, trying to advance close.

"She is, of course, reluctant to accept this power," said Scaglietti. He leaned in closer to Vivio, pressing the nails of his glove to her neck. "So let's take that choice away from her."

"Get away from her!" snarled Sora.

Scaglietti traced the sharp nail across Vivio's throat, barely brushing the skin, and left behind a pattern of glowing-red symbols; Vivio's dual-colored eyes turned milky-white and her cries died in her throat. When Scaglietti wrote the last mark on the back of her neck, the whirlwind of colored energy reached its zenith and the whole chamber was suddenly flooded in a blinding-white color. Nanoha, Fate, and Sora raised their arms to block their vision; a ringing whistle plugged their ears as the pressure of the energy weight down on them. Many long, strenuous moments passed before the light diminished and the ringing in their ears subsided. Sora lowered his arm; his eyes wincing as they tried to focus in on the blurred shapes and colors. He blinked a couple times to correct his vision and stared back to the throne, letting out a disturbed noise that synchronized with Nanoha and Fate's gasps.

Scaglietti stood to the side with a look of victory s Vivio slowly raised herself up from the throne, standing squarely against her parents and friend. But their little girl was no longer little. Vivio had somehow grown into a fully developed adult with an impressive muscle mass for someone of that age while her blonde hair was tied to one side, resembling Nanoha's. Her sleek bodysuit was a mixture of dark-grays and cobalt-blues with a plated, dark waist coat and a deathly-black jacket with matching leather gloves. Vivio stepped lightly down the small flight of stairs to stand on level with Team Alpha, her eyes devoid of any signs of consciousness.

"Vivio!" cried Fate, dashing toward her altered daughter. "Vivio, what did he do to you?"

"Fate, don't!" shouted Nanoha.

Her warning came too late. Vivio pulled her hand over her shoulder and closed it into a fist before swing it around when Fate came close, back fisting the blonde mage across the face. Fate was thrown clear across the chamber, smashed through one of the many support arcs, and crashed into the wall, leaving a large indentation of the metal before slumping to the ground.

"Fate!" yelped Sora.

"There's no point in trying to speak to her – her mind is trapped inside her body by my spell," said Scaglietti wickedly. "And before you get any idea in attacking me with any hopes of breaking her free, it's pointless. Her majesty's primary directive is to keep me safe from all harm. And even if you do manage to slip past her, stopping me will not release the spell controlling her. If anything, it will make her even more temperamental without someone to control her. Either way, there's no hope of freeing her mind."

"You monster," said Nanoha scathingly. "How could you do this to a child?"

"Very easily, in fact," said Scaglietti flippantly. "If you can somehow stop her majesty, you might be able to stop the Cradle. But can you really bring yourself to harm your own daughter."

"…Raising Heart, release limiter restraint," said Nanoha in a chillingly cold voice.

"Nano – WHA!" yelped Sora.

Without a word of warning, the scythe wielder was nearly blasted off his feet when a sudden burst of pink energy exploded around Nanoha. Scaglietti looked equally surprised by the sudden power boost. Before anyone even had a chance to blink, Nanoha suddenly shot across the chamber and closed the distance between her and Vivio, slamming the head of her staff into her daughter's gut. The reincarnated girl made a choking sound – spittle flying from her open mouth. Nanoha carried Vivio will her staff in a full circle before throwing her aside, sending her flying through the steel throne and slamming her into the wall, making a larger imprint that Fate had. Scaglietti was clearly not expecting Nanoha to unleash such a brutal attack on her own daughter; he let out a terrified stammer as he slowly backed away. Nanoha's head snapped at Scaglietti. The doctor looked like he was about to bolt, but Nanoha raised two fingers and shot a quick bullet of pink energy. The magical bullet drilled Scaglietti hard in the chest and threw him backward into the wall, knocking him unconscious.

The whole time this was going on, Sora's hand flew to his hairline, sweeping across the spiky mane while his jaw was practically through the floor, eyes bugging out of their sockets (or at least that's how he imagined he looked at the time).

"HOLY CRAP!" screamed Sora in unbridled shock. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO?"

"What she has to," said Fate, dragging herself up to her feet.

"Fate, are all right?" asked Sora, running over and helping her up.

"I'm fine – I've been hit worse," said Fate, brushing him off. "But like I was saying, Nanoha is doing what she knows is necessary. We don't know how much time is left before the Saint's Cradle is fully charged, or if Team Omega will make it to the Engine Drive in time. Our best chance of stopping the Cradle will be to take out the key."

"But that's Vivio," said Sora aghast. "Maybe if we just talk to her – "

"This isn't a fairy tale, Sora!" snapped Fate. "You can't just try to talk to them and expect them to overcome mind control – that's not how things work in real life. I know Nanoha doesn't actually want to hurt Vivio, but…if we're left with no other alternative, then we're left no other choice than to eliminate Vivio. It might seem cruel…but we have to weight one life against the lives of millions…. Nanoha understands that. That's why she's willing to close off her heart and become…a White Devil." She reached up to her shoulder and whipped off her cloak, tossing it aside. She looked back over her shoulder to Sora's horrified expression. "Not everyone gets a happy ending, Sora."

The far side wall exploded as Vivio shot forward toward Nanoha, throwing her fist at the white-clothed mage. Nanoha held her staff forward to intercept the blow, but she was overwhelmed by the surprising amount of force behind the punch and stumbled backwards, leaving her exposed to her daughter's attack. Vivio didn't let the opportunity go to waste. In the span of three seconds, Sora counted a fourteen hit combo directly to Nanoha's navel before Vivio raised her foot and railed her heel into Nanoha's cheek. Sora ducked underneath when Nanoha went flying over his head and smashed the wall behind him. Sora turned back in time before Vivio kicked off the ground, gliding across the room with her fist pulled back, and swung her knuckle around when she approached her mother. Before she could land her punch, however, a large sword of yellow energy fell between the two and absorbed the blow instead. Vivio's empty eyes followed the sword back to its owner, finding herself face-to-face with a steely-eyed Fate.

"Vivio," Fate muttered softly. "I'm truly…truly sorry about this."

Saying nothing, the reincarnated Saint King pulled back and summoned a pair of rainbow colored sphere in her hands and flung them at Fate. The older blonde woman narrowed her eyes and suddenly vanished from sight before the energy blasts could reach her. Vivio gasped and looked around, not realizing that Fate had reappeared again behind her.

" **Chain Bind!** " shouted Fate.

Coils of yellow energy chains suddenly popped into existence around Vivio, encircling her briefly before they tightened around her midsection, pinning her arms to her sides and burying their anchors into the floor to keep her in place. Vivio howled like a restless animal as she fought against her restraints. Fate slowly carried her energy blade over her shoulder, eyes never wavering from Vivio, and charged forward at her daughter. But halfway meeting each other, Vivio finally shattered the chains binding her with a short burst of strength and summoned four more rainbow orbs before flinging them at Fate. The blonde swordswoman stopped her rush and jumped away before the sphere could reach her. The energy orbs hit the ground where Fate had been standing a second ago, but rather than exploding, the rainbow spheres popped like bubbles and blew forth a hurricane of energy bullets that spiraled towards Fate. The swordswoman cried out and was thrown back down to the ground, crashing into the small staircase leading to the throne.

Fate showed no visible sights of damage other than the soreness raging through her muscles as she forced herself to kneel, leaning on her weapon for support. At the same time, Vivio hovered over her mother and held out her hands in front of her. A larger sphere than any Vivio had summoned before began to take shape between her hands, aiming downward toward Fate. The reincarnated Saint King pulled back her fist ready to slam the energy sphere on top of Fate –

"NO!" cried Sora.

A blur of red and brown zoomed in front of Vivio's sight and she suddenly felt a sharp pain running through the back of her left hand. The reincarnated Saint King winced and her wounded hand; the energy orb popped harmlessly. Looking over her hand, Vivio found a large gashed cutting through her glove and splitting open the skin; a thin stream of blood spilled through her fingers and dripped on the floor. Vivio gnashed her teeth in anger and turned towards the area where the blur went. Sora stared back at Vivio, putting in a lot of effort trying to look serious even though his chest tightened at the thought of hurting the little girl he babysat just last night.

"I really, _really_ don't want to do this to you, Vivio," said Sora in a strained voice. "I know you're tougher than this. You can't let someone lunatic doctor take control. I know that if you try very hard, you can – "

Vivio howled and slingshot another magic orb at him; Sora braced himself as the power sphere exploded at his feet. Vivio hovered in the middle of the chamber for a moment, trying to peer through the cloud of smoke that had formed in her wake. But while her attention was focused on the spot where Sora had been, she had failed to notice that the scythe-wielding hero had zoomed around the edge of the chamber at blinding speeds, stopped behind her, and jumped up with his foot held outward. Vivio let out a surprised gasp when Sora's foot slammed into her spine, but quickly collected herself and swung her fist around behind her. Sora pushed off of Vivio's back to avoid the strike, flipping over her head and swiping Enduring Zinnia at her from above. The reincarnated Saint King winced and grabbed her shoulder where the scythe blade had cut her. Sora landed back on the floor in a crouch stance.

Vivio snarled like the rabid animal she had become and pulled back her fist, flying toward Sora, who lowered himself closer to the floor in preparation to run. Without warning, a beam of pink magical energy struck Vivio from the side, tossing her back across the chamber, but quickly straightened herself in midair and landed on her feet. She turned to Nanoha, who had summoned a platform beneath her feet and a plethora of magical bullets in a cluster around her. With a forceful command (" **Axel Shooter!** "), Nanoha bombarded Vivio in a shower of magical ammunition from which Vivio was forced to bring her arms up just to protect herself. Bullet after bullet rained down on her; Vivio gritted her teeth with a mixture of struggle and frustration. In retaliation, Vivio gathered her energy into a point at her chest and let it explode outward, blasting away Nanoha's spell and blowing the white-clothed mage off balance. Vivio took a step forward to advance on Nanoha –

" **Blitz Rush!** " called Fate.

Vivio quickly turned to her right and raised her forearm to block the sideways strike from Fate, who was pushing all her weight against her energized sword. The pair were caught in a brief power struggle before they pushed away and shot into the air, becoming quick trails of light (Fate yellow and Vivio rainbow). The two lights slammed against each other in rapid succession flying in every corner of the chamber, lightning crackling from every connection. The yellow light eventually managed to land a solid hit on the rainbow and threw it into the wall. Vivio visibly grimaced and glared up at Fate, who was flying down with her swords swinging in an upward arc. The reincarnated Saint King instinctively threw out her, shooting a quick magical bullet that snapped at Fate's throat before she could react. The blonde swordswoman stopped in midair, coughing roughly and nursing her tender throat. Vivio teleported behind Fate, wrapping her hands together overhead, and bringing them down on top of her mother's head. Fate dropped to the floor, landing on her hands and knees.

Vivio raised her hands over her head and began to gather her magic when a gunshot rang out through the chamber. Vivio hissed, eyes wide in shock (both literally and figuratively). Arcs of electricity flew across her body; her body felt heavy and numbs as paralysis started to set in. Her magic waning, Vivio slowly floated back down to the floor, barely having the strength to stay on her feet. It took a lot of effort, but Vivio turned with shuddering breath to Sora, who stared back with a sad look in his eyes.

"Fate was right – this isn't a fairy tail," murmured Sora mournfully. "I thought maybe you could just break free of the spell like the heroes in the stories, but that's not how reality works. I…I don't even know if it's possible to save you…. I'm sorry, Vivio, but…I have to think of the rest of the world first…. I'm sorry…."

" **Restrain Lock!** "

Coils of pink energy sprang from the floor, slithered across Vivio's body like luminescent snakes, strapping down everything they could reach from her ankles, to her wrists, to her midriff, to her throat. By the time the paralysis had subsided, Vivio still couldn't move no matter how much she struggled. A humid, pink glow filled the chamber, radiating from above the Saint King's throne. Nanoha hovered above the battlefield with five magic circles floating behind her (four smaller circles revolving around one larger circle). The head of her staff transformed into a spearhead with its red jeweled centered as five feather wings of pink light spilled from the sides and the top. An enormous amount of magical energy started gathering at the tip of the spear, growing larger and hotter with each second that it almost felt like Sora was standing in the center of the sun. Even as she tipped the spearhead toward her own daughter, Nanoha's face remained rigid and indifferent.

"CLEARANCE CONFIRMED!" her weapons spoke in a mechanical voice. "FIRING LOCK IS CANCELLED! AUTOMATICN RESTRAINT SYSTEM DISABLED! MAGICAL OUTPUT AT ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!"

"…Just close your eyes, Vivio," said Nanoha in a soft tone. "It will all be over soon. You won't feel anything, I promise."

"STANDY-BY READY!" said Nanoha's weapon. "FIRING NOW!"

" **DIVINE…SHOOTER!** " roared Nanoha.

In that moment…Sora saw nothing…Sora heard nothing…. Everything around him evaporated into the pink light….

Sora groaned weakly, a hand massaging his throbbing head as the pain started to subside. Did he pass out? He couldn't really remember much beyond Nanoha's crazy attack spell.

The spiky-haired boy stood up and took in his surroundings. A look of terrified awe was plastered on his expression when he realized just how much damage the blast had caused beyond just temporarily knocking him out. The Throne Room – or what was left of it – was in complete shambles. Every single support arch was broken; the metal either snapped apart or melted clean off, huge chunks of the ceiling were missing or dangling dangerously above their heads, and the area where the throne used to be was now just a crater. But the most noticeable change was the gigantic twenty foot hole in the floor. Sora stepped lightly through the debris until he stood on the edge, leaning forward and peering into the darkness below. There was no bottom as far as Sora could see. Nanoha's blast must have gone straight through the bottom of the Cradle. Sora would be impressed if it wasn't so terrifying.

Sora heard sniffling coming from the back end of the chamber and followed the noise. Nanoha kneeled at the edge of the hole with her face buried into Fate's bosom as a cascade of tears trailed down her face. The blonde woman wrapped her arms around her life partner trying to comfort her, but it was obvious that she was struggling not to break down as well. Sora felt his heart sinking to the bottom of his stomach. They had done it…they had actually destroyed their daughter….

"You had no other choice, Nanoha," murmured Fate. "It was the only way to save her from herself."

"Vivio…," said Nanoha tearfully. "Vivio…."

"I can't believe it," said Sora, clenching his fist in frustration. "After everything we worked for…how could it end like this?"

"I was just wondering the same thing," Sora pivoted around, grinding his teeth furiously when he looked back at Scaglietti. The deranged doctor was buried from the waist down in debris and one of his arms was bending the wrong way, but the madman was smiling nonetheless. "I didn't think you would have the guts to kill your own child just to stop the Cradle. Hah! How delightful! You truly are a White De –OOF!"

Sora rocketed across the floor and jammed his knee into the madman's gut. Scaglietti, who had already suffered sufficient damage earlier, started coughing up blood, but Sora didn't care. He grabbed the scientist by the throat, wanting nothing more than to choke the life out of him.

"You…," growled Sora. "This is all your fault! You took Vivio, turned her into a weapon, and…. Why? Why would you do this?"

"I think I already explained myself well enough already," said Scagleitti with an amused chuckle. Sora slammed him back onto the floor, causing him to wince. "Such an emotional child. If you're overreacting to the death of some child you barely knew, I can't imagine how you'll respond when you find out who betrayed you."

"What do you mean?" sked Sora seethingly.

"Think carefully for a moment, Sora," said Scaglietti. "How do you think I knew where the Saint King was hidden? Who was it that planted the electromagnetic pulse generator in Riot Force 6? Who was it that told me of your little assault ahead of time to prepare accordingly?"

"So there really was a traitor in Riot Force 6," Sora realized.

"Not in Riot Force 6, you foolish boy," said Scaglietti with a wicked grin. "There's a traitor inside your own team."

"Wha – what?" sputtered Sora. "You're lying. No one on my team would betray us."

"You are so quick to see the best in people, just as Zeref predicted," said Scaglietti, chuckling. "You never even realized that Zeref planted his spy inside your little group to monitor your movements. We've been aware of what you four have been up to for a long while, coordinating our plans so that you would not interfere. Clearly I didn't plan Takamachi and Testarossa to have the nerve to kill their own child. Such a waste."

"Who is it?" asked Sora, pulling Scaglietti again by his collar. "If you're telling the truth, who is the traitor?"

"My dear boy, you haven't figured it out yet?" said Scaglietti tauntingly. "The person who betrayed you is – "

Just as the deranged doctor was about to reveal his secret, his face fell and his eyes wandered to something around above their heads. His brow raised curiously, Sora tilted his head up and spotted a single red petal floating down between them. In that split moment Sora's attention was diverted, there was a sickening, bone-splitting _**crack**_ and Sora snapped his focus back on Scaglietti, only to fall on his behind with a echoing yelp of surprise. Scaglietti head was hanging over his shoulder with a terrified expression plastered on his face. It was hard to tell, but it looked like someone might have snapped his neck. But how was that possible? Sora would have seen them, right?

"Sora, what did you do?" shouted Fate in horror, looking between the boy and Scaglietti's corpse. "We needed him alive for questioning."

"It wasn't me, I swear!" sputtered Sora, waving his hands fretfully. "I don't know what – "

Before the scythe wielder could get a word in edgewise, everyone felt the Saint Cradle give a dangerous shudder followed by a series of repeating explosions coming from the area below them.

"What was that?" asked Sora worriedly.

" _ **The Saint's Cradle has suffered too much damage!**_ " said a familiar voice in their earpieces.

"Hayate!" said Fate in surprise.

" _ **We saw the blast from a distance!**_ " said Hayate. " _ **Team Omega just reported in. They successfully destroyed the Engine Drive and now the Saint's Cradle is going into self-destruct mode. Did you manage to find Vivio?**_ "

Sora and Fate shared a look, not knowing how to respond. After everything they worked for, all the people that sacrificed their lives to save that little girl, how could they tell her that they were forced to kill the person they were sent to rescue. Thankfully, Sora and Fate were spared the burden of answer when Nanoha pulled away from her life partner, wiping away the last dredges of tears from her bloodshot eyes, and responded:

"We found Vivio," Nanoha spoke in a monotone. "Requesting emergency evac."

" _ **Vice is already on his way**_ ," answered Hayate. " _ **ETA is in two minutes at the drop–off point. Let's bring our girl home everyone!**_ "

"We'll be there soon – Nanoha out," said Nanoha, cutting off the connection. The white-clothed mage pulled herself up with Fate hovering worriedly over her shoulder, brushing the dust off her clothes with a look of indifference. "The drop-off point six levels below us. We'll have to move fast to meet up with the others before the Cradle is destroyed."

"Nanoha, are you - ?" asked Fate apprehensively.

"Let's get moving," said Nanoha shortly.

"But Nanoha – " interjected Sora.

"I said – " said Nanoha forcefully, making Sora step back " – let's get moving."

Sora and Fate wisely kept their mouths shut, though they did exchange anxious glances. Nanoha was putting up a strong front, but all they could see was a heartbroken woman trying her hardest keep herself together. Nanoha turned down the hallway they came from and shot off in a trail of pink light with Fate shooting close behind her. Sora started to follow behind, but stopped at the threshold and took one last look of the Throne Room.

He wanted to remember this, both to remember what they had to sacrifice…and to remember Scaglietti's warning….

* * *

 **Yeah, that's right; I killed off an innocent 6 year old girl. Bet you didn't see that coming, did ya?**

 **A) School Grounds**

 **B) Fiore**

 **Please, read and review**


	22. A Slice of Life, Part 2

**Chapter Twenty-One: A Slice of Life, Part 2**

Words had spread like wildfire. In a few hours' time, everyone on mid-Childa knew that Jail Scaglietti was dead and the Saint's Cradle was destroyed, all credited toward the brave efforts of Riot Force 6 and a handful of off-worlders. The TSAB grand council had personally called to congratulate everyone in the force and promised they would be awarded medals – Hayate was expected to be promoted to colonel soon enough. They also went on to say that since Scaglietti was dead, Riot Force 6 had fulfilled its mission and would be disbanded shortly. Though they were obviously reluctant to leave each other, everyone had been expecting that the time would come and already made plans for what they would do after Riot Force 6 disbanded.

Under Fate's recommendation, Teana would be working as her aide in the Executive Office for a few years before she joined the office herself. Caro and Erio would be going to a world called Supools, where they would be transferred to Frontier Nature Conservation Corps. Subaru would be moving on to the Gulf Special Rescue Unit (she was a little worried because she heard that the commander was very strict). And Nanoha had been offered three promotions for her efforts, but she turned them all down and decided to go back to teaching Aerial Tactical Instructor Corps. It seemed like everyone had their own plans and would be celebrating on any other occasion…. But this was not a happy time….

Though they save the day – and quite possibly the universe – all celebrations were overshadowed by the fact that Riot Force 6 was short one very special person. When Nanoha, Fate, and Sora arrived at the evacuation site, the others quickly broke out in a flurry of questions. Where was Vivio? Why isn't she with you? What happened to Scaglietti? There so many questions and neither Nanoha nor Fate could muster the nerve to tell everyone the truth, so the responsibility had fallen on Sora to explain everything. He told the whole story in perfect detail: Vivio's transformation, the mind control, the fight, and even Scaglietti's absurd plan about finding "The Threshold" – no one other than Hayate seemed to know what he was talking about. And when he came to the part where Nanoha obliterated her own daughter, no one could hold back their tears knowing that Vivio Takamachi was never coming home.

So that's why Sora found it strange to be in Hayate's office while the Commander (sorry, former Commander) was sitting behind her desk with her hands folded and tilting her head with the biggest smile possible. The rest of his team had also been summoned along with Nanoha, Fate, and the rookies, all lined up in attention. Sora chanced a look at Nanoha to see how she was holding up; her facial expression was as impassive as it had been on the Saint's Cradle. She must be trying to keep her emotions in check until she was alone, Sora thought.

"Congratulations are in order, everybody," said Hayate cheerfully; Rein appeared out of nowhere and started throwing a small basket of confetti. "It was a long struggle, but we finally defeated Scaglietti, though my superiors would have preferred that he had been left alive. Those old farts are still riding me about letting him be killed, but the main takeaway from all this is that we stopped his plans and succeeded in preventing a dangerous superweapon from falling into the hands of a madman. I'd call that a win in my books. Of course, we never could have done it without the brave sacrifice of our men and women. We'll be hosting a memorial service for them at the end of the week, so don't forget."

"We may have won, but at what cost?" said Teana, mumbling softly. "I mean, yeah, we stopped the Saint Cradle, but…Vivio, she…. We all worked so hard to rescue her and now she – "

"There wasn't any other choice," said Fate in a hollow voice. "Vivio was out of control. She would have put herself in danger as much as anyone else. We needed to stop the Cradle, no matter what the cost…. Nanoha made the right decision."

"Yes, she did," said Hayate firmly. "Kids, there are going to be times in your life when you must make tough choices. Though she was emotionally attached to the mission, Nanoha saw the bigger picture and made the decision that led to the least number of casualties. It's what any soldier would have done." She turned her head toward Nanoha, who was staring back at her soon-to-be-ex-commander with all emotions drained from her face. Hayate let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back in her chair. "That being said…I have reason to believe that Vivio isn't dead."

The first flicker of emotion lit up in Nanoha's eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a sense of urgency.

"You said that Vivio's body had been altered because the Kaiserfarbe was released by the Saint's Cradle, correct?" asked Hayate, to which Nanoha, Fate, and Sora nodded. "Well, I've been talking to Carim since we've been back at base and she told me a great deal about Kaiserfarbe. In ancient times, the Saint Kings altered themselves to be better suited for battle – removing all sickness, accelerating adrenaline, maxing out physical, mental, and magical strength. Essentially, they become temporarily unstoppable fighting machines. Carim also mentioned something about an ability called the Saint's Armor, which makes the user resistant to even the most damaging of attacks. Your Divine Buster may have been strong enough to pierce the Saint's Cradle, Nanoha, but it could have done anything more than knock Vivio out."

"Then where is she?" shouted Fate suddenly, rushing forward and slamming her hands on the desk. "She wasn't there when we checked the throne room! Is she still hiding in the wreckage?"

"Unfortunately, it does not seem that Vivio is on Mid-Childa anymore," said Hayate. The group made confused noises and gestures. "The moment the Carim told me about the Saint's Armor, I asked the High Council if I could use their planetary tracking system. I caught a glimpse of Vivio's mana leaving the atmosphere before they moved out of the satellite's range. Someone took her."

"It has to be Zeref," said Nanoha with certainty. "Scaglietti mentioned that Vivio would be a perfect candidate for a Maiden and that she would be the key to opening the Threshold."

"Sora said the same thing on the way back," said Teana interestingly. "Do any of you know what the Threshold is?"

"Only that it's a legend older than the Saint King," said Hayate immediately. "There's no proof that such a place exists or how it can even be opened if it does."

"Well, Zeref seems to think it's real," said Sora. "Scaglietti said he already had five Maidens and that Vivio was the sixth."

"So that's the reason Zeref created his Cabal," said Hayate, humming thoughtfully. "I wonder how Zeref intends to use the Maidens to open the Threshold…not that it's real or anything."

"Why are we still standing around here talking about it?" Subaru shouted suddenly, making many of them jump. "If we know that Vivio's alive, we should go after her!"

"We can't," said Teana instantly.

"Why not?" exclaimed Subaru.

"Think about it for a moment," Teana snapped firmly; Subaru flinched under her partner's stare. "Riot Force 6 suffered a considerable loss from both of Scaglietti's attacks and our division is about to be shut down soon. We lack the authority and the necessary manpower for a rescue operation. Besides that, we don't even know where Vivio is headed. We could be wasting valuable resources traveling all over the galaxy without knowing where we're going.

"Tea's right, Subaru," said Hayate; the tomboy pouted and whimpered like a wounded puppy. "We're in no position to go out looking for Vivio without being court-martialed…but Sora's team doesn't have that problem, do they. In fact, I believe it was General Schnee that ordered their search in the first place."

"Well, technically – " Penny started, before Sun slapped her over the head.

"Nanoha, Fate, I promise we'll find Vivio and bring her back safely," said Sora seriously, pounding his chest to emphasize his point.

"I know you will," said Nanoha, giving him the first warm smile she shown since yesterday. She walked up to him and reached into her pocket. "I want you to have this. Our Device Meister, Shari, found this in an old storage closet. She didn't think it was compatible with any of our Devices, but I remember that Ruby used something like this with her scythe ten years ago. I figured yours might do the same."

She pulled out his hand and slapped a Scroll in his open palm. The Scroll was pink in color with a similarly colored flower stamped on the face – the neat cursive writing underneath called it: _**Lyrical Carnation.**_ It was another one of Ruby Rose's weapon altering Scrolls, just like the one Lara had given him on Yamatai. Sora wasted no time pulling out his current Enduring Zinnia and flipping it out into Scythe Mode, eager to try out his new device. The spiky-haired boy removed the current Scroll from the slot underneath the scope – temporarily shifting it back to Crescent Rose –and inserted the new scroll.

The familiar metallic sand rolled over the scythe – Subaru and the others watched the display in awe – and spend a good twenty seconds shifting back and forth before the metal found its form, solidified, and then added color. The new scythe – Lyrical Carnation – had a longer reach like Crescent Rose, but weighed just as much as Enduring Zinnia. The design was a simple silver shaft with a metallic-blue casing on the butt, a metal-blue casing with a hidden trigger halfway up the body, and a golden head with a large, ruby-red jewel in the center. On the side of the head was an empty slot where the scythe's blade should have been. Sora hummed thoughtfully for a moment before twisting the shaft – a vibrating blade of pink energy sparked to life from the slot, nearly taking Subaru's head off.

"Laser scythe!" said Sora giddily. "That is so cool!"

"Looks like a combination of our weapons, doesn't it, Nanoha?" said Fate, giggling amusingly.

"It sure does, Fate," said Nanoha, sounding equally amused. "I wish we could go with you, Sora, but I know Vivio is in good hands with you around. So…bring our little girl back safely, okay?"

"You can count on it," said Sora, nodding.

"Since we're on the subject of giving gifts out, I thought you might want this," said Hayate. She reached into a drawer of her desk and slapped a sheet of paper on the surface. "I heard you were looking for these…RWBY Reports, I think they were called. The Bureau found it among the wreckage with Scaglietti's body – I guess he was as curious about what happened to them as everyone else. You can take it if you want."

Sora immediately snatched the paper up off the desk and started reading the report as fast as he could while the rest of his team hung over his shoulder. It wasn't so much of a report as it was someone writing down their thoughts a feelings like a dairy. They talked about their friends and family, they wrote down their fears of the darkness and how it exists everywhere, waiting to consume them. There was no name at the end of the entry – only a single initial: 'R'.

Was it Ruby Rose that wrote this entry? If so, Sora wondered if at the time she wrote this was when she started to change into the person he saw on Yamatai – the Ruby Rose willing to sacrifice anyone to get what she wants….

* * *

But even as the heroes work towards rebuilding their losses, Zeref's Cabal continue to plot from the safety of the Black Wizard's shadowed domain. Once again, the master of death magic remain seat on the far end of the chamber, staring off into the darkness, while Roman Torchwick and their newest member, Riku, stood around the granite table, watching the projection in its center. They must have watched the same footage at least a dozen times in Riku's opinion. Over and over, Nanoha would blast the Saint King to dust and Sora seemingly snap Scaglietti's neck. Of course, Riku knew Sora didn't do it; he didn't have the guts to actually kill anybody.

"Ahh…that shaggy-haired quack could've had them…if someone had stuck around to lend him a hand," said Torchwick, looking pointedly at Riku. "But now the good doctor's neck has turned into a pretzel AND we lost the girl. You're zero for two here, kid. Got anything to say about it?"

"It's not my fault Scaglietti betrayed us," said Riku spitefully, clenching his fists in frustration. "I was just doing what I was told – I had no idea he was going to use her for some kind of superweapon. And how would I have known that she'd kill the girl? I thought she would have at least knocked her out and I could collect her afterwards."

"I never truly trusted Scaglietti," said Zeref pleasantly. "He was a byproduct of a Bureau experiment that compelled him to seek out every secret in the universe to the point of obsession. I knew he only wanted the Threshold because his ingrained desire to know everything. In the end, it was his obsession that became his own undoing. Let this be a lesson to those who allow their obsessions to consume their thoughts." He seemed to be looking to Torchwick as he said this.

"Hey, I'm not obsessed about anything," said Torchwick, waving his hand.

"Of course not," said Zeref before turning on Riku. "But Torchwick does present an excellent point. You're lack of involvement, Riku, has cost us yet another Maiden just as it had on Yamatai when you failed to stop Sora and his friends from reaching the mountain before the ritual was complete." Riku grimaced and made an uncomfortable noise. "Fortunately for you, I had prepared for such an event ahead of time and already went to collect a replacement for the one you lost. But remember this, Riku. We had a deal: you help us in gathering the Maidens and we will grant you your wish. But it seems that you have forgotten, otherwise you would be more proactive. Perhaps a reminder is in order."

With a snap of the Black Wizard's fingers, the projection on the table altered to a familiar girl lying still and unconscious flat of the surface.

"Kairi!" cried Riku in worry.

"Blackbeard found her days ago, lying in deep sleep on the shores of the Grand Line," said Zeref. "I had intended her to be a reward for when you brought back the Maiden, but now she will be incentive to keep focused on your task. Fail one more time, Riku, and you may never see your beloved Kairi again."

"What do you want me to do?" asked Riku with a sense of urgency. "I swear, I'll do anything, just tell me!"

"Hmm…well, since you insist," said Zeref, sharing amusing smirks with Torchwick. "There have been rumors of a girl whose soul is so powerful that she altered the very reality of his hometown, ripping it away from the real world and trapping it in a world of eternal fog and darkness. This girl holds much scorn for the people within that town – it seems they tried to burn her as a witch – but there is no denying that such a powerful soul could be useful. Find this girl, and you may be rewarded yet."

"How am I supposed to find her?" asked Riku.

"I have already plotted a course in your ship," said Zeref. "Torchwick will escort you there on his way back to Fiore."

"What? Me? I don't wanna – " Torchwick argued, but stopped himself when Zeref's eyes turned dangerously red. "Ugh, fine. Move it along, brat. I haven't got all day."

"If I do this, you promise to take me to Kairi?" said Riku, looking to Zeref questionably.

"I have been called many things in my long life, Riku," said Zeref calmly. "But liar has never been one of them."

Riku stared down the Black Wizard for a long moment, likely trying to search for any trace of a lie or deception, but Zeref has had four hundred years of practice in hiding his emotions. Riku could never figure out what he was thinking as opposed to Sora, who wore his heart on his sleeve. He didn't like trusting someone with a reputation like Zeref's, but Riku has already too far invested in this Cabal to turn back now and he was only one mission away from finding Kairi – something his so-called best friend seemed to have forgotten. Riku turned away and marched after Torchwick, who was waiting impatiently by the door. Zeref watched the both of them leave his chambers and slam the door behind them, continued to stare into space for one long minute, before he spoke out again.

"You were reckless out there," said Zeref. "Sora already suspects your involvement after you confronted him on Yamatai. If he figures out that about the Maidens and the Threshold, we could very well be attracting the attention of both the Bureau and the Atlesian Army. We've come too far now to have them muddle everything up."

"You let me worry about Sora. You just make sure everything runs smoothly on your end."

The Black Wizard turned his head with little interest as the red hooded woman stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the chambers where no eyes could see her in the darkness. The woman parted her bloody cloak down the middle and revealed the unconscious form of Vivio Takamachi; her body was badly bruised and there were many scratches across her arms and legs, but her chest rose and fell as if she were sleeping. Zeref stood up and walked across the chamber to meet Ruby halfway, holding out his arms for Ruby to gently deposit the young child. Zeref cast a wistful gaze over the child as the tiniest of smiles creeped across his lips.

"She looked so much like Olivie when she was little," said Zeref softly. "She was the first real friend I was able to withstand my curse. Scaglietti, for all his faults, did an excellent job."

Vivio Takamachi from Mid-Childa," said Ruby, counting off with her fingers. "Mato Kuroi from Otherworld, the Half-Genie from Sequin Land, the princess from Karakura Town, the Gravity Queen from Hekseville, and your precious fairy. Together, that makes six. Just one more and we'll have the key to opening the Threshold, and then we'll both get what we want."

"I've already sent Riku to recover another potential candidate," said Zeref. "With any luck, we'll have our seven soon enough."

"Even if he doesn't, I already have another one in mind," said Ruby, grinning mischievously. "Part of me hopes he fails. I just love stories with an ironic twist."

* * *

 **TRAVERSE TOWN**

Team Sora entered the town square through the gate leading to the port, grunting and groaning as they loosened their muscles after their flight from Mid-Childa. Thankfully, before they left, Hayate's engineer's added a special feature to their Gummi Ship that increased the speed and maneuverability, reducing a trip that would have taken days to only a few short hours. Sun, Penny, and Velvet had been acting normal during the flight – small talk with an occasional practical joke from Sun – but Sora was unusually quiet during the trip back. Sun and the others assumed he was thinking about Vivio and planning a way to save her, so they left him alone. But the truth was, Sora was very deep in thought about the last thing Scaglietti told him. Sora knew he shouldn't have listened to the mad doctor, but he just couldn't get it out of his head. The idea that one of his friends was a traitor for Zeref's Cabal was absolutely ridiculous…but then again, Scaglietti _had_ detailed several reasons why the scythe wielder should be suspicious of them.

The spiky-haired boy stared at his friend's backs while they were talking to one another. Sun seemed like the least likely suspect to betray them as he always seemed so honest. But then again, Lara Croft had said once during their breaks on Yamatai that Sun Wukong was the name of a trickster god, so would the same thing apply to a Faunus? Penny always seemed so strict and by-the-book that going against her mission directive would be impossible, but then Sora had to consider that she is a robot and could have possibly been reprogrammed without them knowing. Velvet, though inhumanly cute, was the biggest suspect since Sora didn't know anything about her beyond the fact that he was a classmate of Team RWBY ten years ago. Sora had no idea what she had been doing in between that time, and the fact that she was friends with Ruby – who was acting pretty evil on Yamatai – wasn't helping anything.

Sora frowned and cross his arms, humming in agitated thought. If there was a traitor, Sora didn't know how to tell. There were so many possibilities – his mind racing with – "

"SORA!" yelled Velvet, snapping Sora out of his stupor. "You okay there? We lost you there for a moment."

"Er, yeah, I'm fine," said Sora with a halfhearted chuckle. "What's up?"

"We were wondering what you were going to do while we're in town," said Velvet. "I wanna check out the weapon shops and see if I can't get a few photographs; that fight with the Saint Cradle very depleted my camera's memory."

"I still have to file a report with General Schnee," said Penny.

"And I'm just gonna lie around because I'm lazy," Sun said proudly with his chest puffed out; Penny slapped herself in the face. "What're you gonna do, Sora?"

"Oh, well, I'm probably gonna stop by Glynda – I mean, Professor Goodwitch's house," said Sora, reaching into his pocket and pulling a sheet of ripped paper. "I found this page from Akari's book while we were staying at Riot Force 6. I'm hoping that Professor Goodwitch can put the page back in the book and it'll bring some of Akari's friends back."

"We probably shouldn't spend too much time knowing that Zeref's Cabal is on the loose," said Penny. "We'll all meet back at the Gummi Ship in an hour. Agreed?"

The others made noises of acknowledgement, but most of them just threw their hands over their shoulders in a gesture and already started walking off. Sora walked alone toward the large doors leading to the Third District while Penny and Velvet went in opposite directions up the stairs and Sun stole – I mean, borrowed – a seat from one of the patrons at the open café and promptly fell asleep with him feet on the table, much to the indignation of the shop owners. Okay, Sora thought as he closed the doors behind him, so maybe Sun wasn't the traitor after all.

When Sora pulled the cloth over the hole in the wall aside and walked in, he found Professor Goodwitch settled in her seat on the raised dais in the middle of the house, one leg crossed over the other, a book in her lap and a cup of steaming-hot tea on the table next to her. She was always so dignified, Sora didn't blame the others for being scared of her (and the fact that her weapon of choice was a riding crop, which Sun suggested wasn't just for horse…Sora still doesn't know what that means). Professor Goodwitch looked up from her book when Sora walked into her home – unannounced she might add – and closed her book with a _snap_ , making Sora jump. But as the former teacher stood up and tossed her novel on the table, a small smile formed on her lips and she crossed the room in two strides.

"Sora, what a pleasant surprise," said Goodwitch in an unusually kind tone. "I wasn't expecting to see you back here for…a couple weeks. I trust things went well in Mid-Childa."

"They could have been better," said Sora. "You're in a good mood."

"And with good reason," said Goodwitch, gesturing to her book and teapot. "I've been working myself ragged these past few days, running back and forth between worlds, collecting any stragglers lost in the Ocean Between, and of course putting out any fires Miss Valkyrie may cause. It's very rare that I have some time to myself, so I would like to enjoy it."

"Then I won't take too much of your time," said Sora, holding out the torn page. "I found another one of the pieces of Akari's book. I was hoping you might be able to fix it."

Professor Goodwitch hummed in thought for a moment as she took the paper, her eye wandering over it with a critical look. The former teacher snapped her riding crop across the air again and the blank book sitting atop the pedestal on the opposite side of the room was shunted through the air. Professor Goodwitch deftly snatched the book by its stitched binding and allowed the covers to fall open on its own, immediately flipping to the section of the book that was missing several pages. She lined the missing page with the torn section of the spine, a soft golden glow arose from their connection, and when Professor Goodwitch took her hand off the page, it was seamlessly joined with the rest of the book.

"Hmm…the book seems to restore its when met with all its parts," said Goodwitch, flipping through the pages. "But it seems like its missing a few more sections. Either way, a new part of this book's world should have been restored by it. Would you like to see it for yourself?"

Sora nodded eagerly. Professor Goodwitch turned the book around so that the opening was facing the scythe wielder. There was a familiar flash of blinding light and Sora was gone.

* * *

 **SCHOOL GROUNDS**

Unlike the last time when Sora entered the book already on the ground, he was instead freefalling from the sky – the addition to the book must have altered something in the entryway he supposed. As he fell spread eagle through the air, he noticed the large school building off in the distance beyond the sea of trees. That had to be the main school grounds, he thought, but it didn't look like he was allowed to go there just yet. The spiky-haired boy looked down and saw that he was going to land in the middle of the clearing next to the small pond and the Japanese styled building belonging to the Amusement Club if he remembered correctly. When he was closer to the ground, Sora flipped forward in midair and landed safely on the grass without a scratch. Of course, Sora had the feeling the book would have set him down gently regardless.

"Well, that was something," said Sora, standing up straight and looking around. "Huh, doesn't look like much has changed since I left. I was kinda expecting something different."

Just then, Sora heard the clattering of the Amusement Club door opening turned in that direction. Akari was standing in the opening of the house, looking around curiously as if trying to find something until her round, purple eyes landed on Sora. She broke out into a wide grin and waved him over.

"Sora, I'm so happy you came back," said Akari cheerfully. "You won't believe what happened. I was just playing solitare – I've gotten really good at it, by the way – and then suddenly there was this bright light that covered the whole school. I was so scared at first because I couldn't see and my head felt hot, but then when I looked up again, my friends came back! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Sure is," said Sora, inwardly congratulating himself.

"Hey, Akari, is that your new friend that you were talking about?" a new, calm voice called from inside the house. "Why don't you invite him in."

"Yeah, don't go hogging him all to yourself, you man stealer," said another, more excitable voice.

"Man-stealer!" squeaked Akari; her face turned a bright shade of red and steam came out of her hair buns. (How is that possible, Sora wondered.)

"Mou, stop teasing her, Kyoko-Senpai," a third, much soft voice chastised her.

Sora took off his shoes before stepping inside the house (just another little detail Lara explained to him during one of her many, _many_ lectures on Japanese culture). The last time Sora had visited the Amusement Club, the room had been messy, but empty save for its one member. Now it looked like a hurricane had torn through the room. There were piles of junk littered in nearly every corner of the room that it was almost impossible to make it to the tea table without stepping on something. Empty rum raisin ice cream containers, cosplay costumes, animal-themed pajama (with a tomato pair mixed in for some reason), assortments of toys, several throw pillows, a pair of matching wooden swords, stacks upon stacks of manga books, and a T-shirt that said "I am AHO". And that's just what was on the surface – Sora didn't want to imagine what was underneath.

Akari put a pillow down at the end of the table for Sora to sit while the spiky-haired boy took a chance to look over the new company. A total of three other girls, all wearing the same school uniform as Akari. The one directly to his left has short, dark hair and a look of maturity as she sipped her tea with impeccable manners. The girl sitting on her opposite, in contrast, had long blonde hair topped with a dark-red bow and was lying flat on the table, trying to stretch her tongue toward a potato chip only a couple feet away since she was too lazy to use her hands. And the last girl serving the tea was the smallest of the group, but was the one that stood out the most because of her unnaturally bright-pink, pom-pom hair.

"These are my friends in the Amusement Club," said Akari suddenly, making Sora jump. For a moment, he almost forgot she was there. The little redhead pointed to the pair across the table. "That's Yui-chan and Kyoko-chan. We've been best friends since we were little kids. They started the Amusement Club."

"It's very nice to meet you," said Yui politely, bowing slightly. "Thanks for taking good care of Akari while we were gone. We're really grateful, right, Kyoko?"

"You're hair's super spiky," said Kyoko offhandedly; Yui spit out her tea comedically. "Does it poke people a lot?"

"Well…there was this one time when we were little and Fujin accidentally ran into me," said Sora thoughtfully. "She's been wearing an eyepatch ever since."

"Coool/Scary," Kyoko and Yui said respectively.

"And this is Chinatsu-chan," said Akari, gesturing to the pink haired girl. "She in the same class as me."

"Nice to finally meet you, Sora," said Chinatsu in a sickeningly-sweet voice that made Sora unusually uncomfortable. "Akari-chan's been telling us all about you since we came back, so…" she reached underneath the table and pulled out a drawing pad. "I thought I'd make a picture for you. I think I really I captured your likeness. Wanna see?

"NOOOOOO!"

When the screams started, Sora's fighting instincts led him to jump straight to his feet and reached behind for his new scythe, Lyrical Carnation. His hand was wrapped around the smooth neck of the scythe when he realized that the screaming was coming from Akari, Yui, and Kyoko. All three of them were trembling in the corner and looked visibly pale; Kyoko started building a fort around them use the mass amount of junk in the room.

"Uh…what'd you guys doing?" asked Sora as Kyoko started building a roof out of throw pillows.

Yui gestured Sora closer through the gap in their junk fortress and the spiky-haired boy leaned in, blinking curiously.

"I wouldn't say this to her face," said Yui in hushed whisper, "but her drawings are super bad and really scary. One time, Chinatsu turned in a drawing for art class and the teacher spent a month locked inside an underground bunker eating cans of tuna and hiding under a blanket with a teddy bear. Kyoko, Akari, and I have sort-of developed an immunity to them because we spend a lot of time Chinatsu and Kyoko gives us drawing therapy afterwards. For your own sake, do not – I repeat – do NOT look at Chinatsu's drawings."

"C'mon, you're over exaggerating," said Sora in disbelief. Akari, Yui, and Kyoko shook their heads in pity before closing their junk fort. "There's no way anyone's drawings can be that bad. I bet their just making it all up. Hey, Chinatsu – " he walked back to the table and faced her "- why don't you show me that picture you made? I'd love to see it."

Chinatsu smiled happily, slowly turning the pad around to show what existed on the other side –

Sora was skipping through a field of fluffy cloud – his body lighter than air – until he came upon a strange set of pearly-white gates. The gate slowly flew open as he walked closer and felt a breeze of soothingly warm air blow against his face as a chorus of beautiful voices sang in choir. The spiky-haired boy was partially blinded by the brilliant light that lay on the other side of the gate, but the blurry outline of someone with outstretched feathery wings offered out their hand for Sora to take. Sora extended his hand to theirs –

 _ **SMACK!**_

"Ow!" yelped Sora, shooting up into a sitting position as he rubbed his throbbing cheek. "That really hurt! Was that really necessary?"

"Oh, thank goodness, we thought we lost you for a moment," said Yui, sighing in relief.

No longer skipping through a field of the fluffiest clouds in the universe running toward the pearly gates and the heavenly voice, Sora came crashing back down to the reality that was the Amusement Club. It seemed that Yui had been the one to nurse Sora back to the land of the living, having been lying in the mature girl's lap just moments ago. Next to her was the box Sora had seen in the clubhouse last time – the one that specifically warned: " **Chinatsu-chan's artwork – DO NOT OPEN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!** " Sora better understood what that meant. Chinatsu was sitting on the other side of the table and was shooting a glare so fierce the scythe wielder could literally see the flames billowing behind her. Was she upset that he didn't like her drawing…. No, it seemed like she was upset by something else.

The spiky-haired hero heard a clatter in the corner and looked around, spotting Kyoko rummaging around through the junk pile. When Sora sat up, Kyoko looked over with a playful smile and a wave.

"Yo," she said humorously. "You're not dead. That's awesome."

"Yeah, really awesome," muttered Sora as Kyoko went back to digging. "Um…what're you looking for."

"We're getting close to the end of the chapter and we haven't even done anything yet," answer Kyoko. Giant question marks appeared above Sora's head without him knowing. "I mean, yeah, we got some plot development stuff in: Vivio turns out to be alive, you get a new scythe, Riku is working for the bad guys – "

"What was that last part?" asked Sora shockingly.

"But we haven't done anything for _this_ world yet," continued Kyoko, "so we should do something before the author gets bored and wants to end the chapter here."

"Uh…did Kyoko get hit in the head while I was almost dead?" Sora asked Yui in a hushed voice.

"No, it's just the author trying to throw in some fourth wall humor," answered Yui. "It's kind of thing we did for three seasons of the Yuru Yuri anime where we, the main characters, repeatedly break the fourth wall for humor. It's okay if you don't understand it. You don't really break the fourth wall all that much over in Kingdom Hearts."

"Kingdom what?" asked Sora, even more lost than he was ten seconds ago.

"We're supposed to be playing the parts of Winnie the Pooh in 100 Acre Wood, right?" asked Chinatsu, resting her head in her hands with looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Maybe we should try doing some of the mini-games like in the original Kingdom Hearts. Sora found the first page, so that would make this the…Honey Tree, I think. Maybe we should do the mini-game where one of us floats on a balloon trying to get honey from a tall tree while Sora protects us from the bees."

"Bee?" Sora repeated.

"No way, no way," Yui dismissed. "We can't do that. For one thing, honey doesn't come from trees. Honey is made when bees collect flower nectar, break them down into simple sugars, and store them into pockets of honeycombs. Then the constant fanning of the bees' wings cause evaporation, turning them into honey."

"You really know a lot about bees," said Sora surprisingly.

"Yui-senpai is so smart!" Chinatsu gushed.

"Not really," said Yui, smiling awkwardly. "The author just looked it up on the internet and wrote it down for me to say because he thinks I'm the smart one. And secondly, there's no way one small balloon would ever be able lift anyone off the ground. It goes against the laws of physics. Balloons are lighter than air, and gravity pulls heavier objects toward the planet, so the idea that one balloon could lift anyone is absolutely ridiculous – "

"YUI, CHECK IT OUT! LOOK HOW HIGH I AM!"

The room perked up in interest. That was definitely Kyoko, but when every look toward the junk pile, the excitable blonde was missing (though there was a strange dotted outline where she had been before; must be more of that 'anime' power Yui was talking about, Sora thought). They could hear Kyoko's laughter coming from outside. They all walked out through the sliding door and their jaws dropped when they nearly ran into the gigantic forty foot honey tree that definitely hadn't been there a few minutes ago in their front yard. And if that wasn't strange enough, Kyoko was floating near the top of the tree dangling from the thinnest string on the smallest balloon in the world. But while Sora was trapped in a stunned expression, Yui looked particularly annoyed.

"Kyoko, what the heck!" yelled Yui. "Why is there a honey tree in front of the club house? And where'd you even get a honey tree in the first place?"

"I asked the author if she could put it in," said Kyoko, waving to the screen. "Thanks, Rosey."

No problem, Kyoko.

"Ayano's not gonna be happy about this!" called Yui. "Get down from there before you hurt your, or worse, the author gets lazy and forgets to take the tree out of the scene!"

"Boo! You're no fun!" pouted Kyoko, floating over to the hole in the trunk. "C'mon, this is perfect for a mini-game. Look, it's even got real honey – " she jabbed her hand into the hole, whipping out a drippy glop of golden sweetness. "See?"

"That's not the point!" yelled Yui. "Get down from there before the chapter ends and you're stuck up there until next time!"

"But Rosey even put in real bees," said Kyoko as she floated to the nearest beehive. "Just – gotta – wake – 'em – up!"

"Uh…Kyoko-senpai, I don't think that's a good…," said Chinatsu slowly.

The atmosphere was suddenly filled with a cacophony of a thousand tiny wings buzzing angrily. Like a cork popping off a champagne bottle, a piece of the beehive shot out and thousands of tiny, dot-like…things spilled forth – guess the author was too lazy to give the bees any detail. The petrified look of fear on Kyoko's face made it apparent that she realized too late the consequence of her actions. The swarm of buzzing dots swooped over the blonde girl, completely covering her while going nowhere near the balloon keeping her aloft. For some reason, Sora could actually hear the moments when the bee's stinger struck Kyoko's skin and the blonde yelped in response to each one.

"Uh…should I go help her?" asked Sora, at a loss for what to do.

"Nah, I'm sure she'll be fine," said Chinatsu insensitively. She then latched on to Yui's arm with the biggest smile she could manage, squeezing tight. "Those bees sure look very scary, don't they, Yui-senpai. But I know you'll protect me."

"My arm…," gasped Yui, her face contorted in anguish. "I can't feel my arm…"

Hey, guys, you mind if we wrap this up. I kinda ran out of ideas for this segment.

"Huh, oh, sure, I guess," said Yui, looking up at the sky to some cosmic being that Sora could not see or hear. Managing to pry her aching arm from Chinatsu, Yui turned on Sora, coughing into her fist in a dignified manner. "Congratulations on passing this level, or whatever this was. You'll have to wait until you find the rest of the pages before you can find out what happens next, so you should probably get going now. The Grand Magic Games should be happening in the next chapter, I think."

"Uh…okay then," said Sora awkwardly, shuffling away slowly. "So um…see ya."

And so it was that Sora departed from the School Grounds, now considering it to be the strangest world he has visited yet.

But of course, the chapter wouldn't be complete without Kyoko – now covered in bee stings – jumping in front of the screen with a cutesy wink.

"Don't forget to washargle, kid," said Kyoko playfully.

"That's never going to be a meme," said Yui blankly.

* * *

 **Akari: Mou, you cut me out of the story! I barely had any screen time!**

 **Rosey: Oh, sorry about that. I kinda forgot you existed. You really don't have a lot of presence.**

 **Akari: Wah! ToT**

* * *

 **Okay, the next chapter is the Grand Magic Games like Yui said it would be, which means that it's time for you, the readers, to pick who you want to see fighting who in a chance to interact with you, the readers. Last time, there was a bit of confusion as people thought I was talking about which team should fight which. What I was actually looking for was individual characters. For example: (Penny vs. Erza), (Jaune vs. Oliv), etc. So here's the list of contestants again and you write who you want to see fighting:**

Team Sora (Sora, Sun, Penny, Velvet)

Team Fairy Tail (Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza)

Team Sabertooth (Sting, Rogue, Yukino, Neo)

Team JNPR (Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren)

Team Eto (Nya-tan, Inu-Tan, Kei-Tan, Uri-Tan)

Team SHDO (Stella, Honey, Domino, Olive)

 **Please read and review.**

* * *

 **RWBY Report #1**

 _For much of my life, I've lived with the belief that there is good in every soul._

 _That thought alone is what sustained me, even in the darkest of times. My mother, my sister, my friends, my home…_

 _I've been blessed with their love and safety. They kept my dream alive; let me believe that I could be the hero that could save the world._

 _I was an ignorant little girl._

 _After many experiences that would crush the souls of others, I know realize that goodness does not exist in every soul, nor do they deserve it._

 _I now know that darkness sleeps in every soul, no matter how pure. Given the chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the soul. I've seen it happen many times._

 _Darkness…darkness of the soul. How is it born?_

 _How does it come to affect us so?_

 _I was blessed and cursed with a powerful gift, so it falls upon me to find the answers. I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by the darkness._

 _-_ _ **R**_


	23. Grand Magic Games - Chariot

_**A/N:**_ **I know I haven't been updating my other story as often as I should, but I am, at the moment, crippled by a lack of motivation, and an ingrain need to make a well thought plot point. I haven't given up on SHDO yet, it just needs a little more time.**

 **Chapter Twenty-Two: Grand Magic Games – Chariot**

Sora actually managed to land on his feet this time when he exited the School Grounds; the light glimmered around him and died before the book snapped shut behind him. The scythe wielder had to take a moment to shake the dizziness from his vision (pocket dimensional travel was very disorienting). He found Glynda Goodwitch where he left her: sitting in her comfortable loveseat, one leg crossed over the other, a book in her lap and a cup of hot tea that was being refilled by a floating pot as if served by an invisible butler. The former teacher did not look up from her novel when Sora returned, flipping to the next page of her book undisturbed while she acknowledged him.

"I take it things went well in the book world?" said Goodwitch.

"More or less," said Sora with uncertainty. "Akari's friends are…interesting."

"As in Nora interesting?" asked Goodwitch.

"Much more interesting," answered Sora.

"Well, that is interesting," hummed Goodwitch, flipping to the next page. "I suppose you'll be running back to your friends now. Oh, before I forget – " She retrieved her riding crop from her boot and gave it a quick flick. Something shot across the room and rammed Sora into the chest, nearly causing him to fall – "That came in for you while you were playing in the book. A package from our mysterious friend – the one that sent the letter to Atlas and myself. I think they've been watching you."

The spiky-haired boy blinked comically, looked down at the tiny box, and opened the flaps. Inside were a collection of silver bullets tipped with green heads.

"Dust bullets?" said Sora curiously.

"Air Dust bullets," explained Goodwitch, never looking up from her novel. "One of the four primary types of Dust, including the Fire and Lighting Dust you already have. Air Dust isn't used for offensive abilities as much as it is used in defensive strategies. It's better used before redirecting long-distance weaponry, pushing an enemy back, or for giving yourself a boost in speed. Though there are some practitioners who have used Air Dust to generate tornados and the like, but it's not recommended for novices such as yourself."

"I'll definitely keep that in mind the next time I'm running away from a Grimm," said Sora jokingly. He started to walk out when he stopped at the curtain and looked back at Goodwitch; a dark thought running through his mind. "Hey uh…Professor Goodwitch, you knew Sun, Penny, and Velvet when they were younger, right?"

"Sun attended Haven and Penny was the property of Atlas," said Goodwitch, raising her head with her brow arched. "But Velvet was a student of mine, yes. She was always so bright and gifted, but she was so shy and lacked self-confidence. She was always running to her teammates whenever Mr. Winchester and her rabble were bullying her. But it seems like Velvet has changed a lot since I last saw her. Good for her."

"Yeah…changed…," Sora repeated, grimacing.

"Why? Is something the matter?" asked Goodwitch, sounding worried.

Sora wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to tell her what Jail Scaglietti had said to him in his final moments. He wanted to tell her that there might be a traitor on his team and that Jail Scaglietti had been murdered before he had a chance to tell him who it was. Sora had tried very hard on the way back to Traverse Town to believe that Scaglietti was lying, that he was just trying to drive a wedge between them. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Jail Scaglietti had planned everything perfectly when he attacked Riot Force 6 – he even knew where Vivio would be that night. The only way that could have happened was if someone on the inside had told him. Sora wanted desperately to tell her that one of his closest friends might end up stabbing him in the back…. But instead….

"Nah, it's nothing," said Sora, waving off the subject. "Just uh, you know, wondering. So uh, see ya."

Sora pulled away the curtain and stepped out into the cavern, leaving Goodwitch to stare at his back with a contemplative look in her eyes.

* * *

He arrived back in the First District and looked down at the Scroll that he still hasn't given back to Penny (It was so shiny! He couldn't help it!). He checked the time; it was still a few minutes before they were supposed to meet back at the Gummi Ship. With the extra time, Sora considered going to the café to grab a quick bite to eat before the Scroll started vibrating. Sora yelped and fumbled with the communication device in his hands – it had never done that before. Once he managed to settle his hands a bit, he noticed a blinking symbol in the top-right corner and tapped it out of natural curiosity. A small window opened on the screen and short message flashed up at him: **GRAND MAGIC GAMES, 2** **ND** **EVENT TOMORROW.**

"Hey, Sora!" he looked over to Sun as he walked down the stairs with Penny and Velvet behind him. "You just got the message, too?"

"Um, yeah, I guess I did," said Sora, looking back at the Scroll curiously. "The Grand Magic Games are starting their next event soon. I know we're really busy with trying to find Team RWBY, stop Zeref's Cabal, and rescue Vivio, so I guess we really don't have time to compete, huh?"

"Of course we're competing," said Penny seriously. "Don't forget, the reason we signed up for the Games is because we think there might be one of the RWBY reports in the King's library, and the only way we can ask the king for permission to check out the library is by winning the Grand Magic Games…. Although, we pretty much sucked last time we competed…and the one RWBY report we found didn't tell us much about what happened to them…. You know, on second thought, maybe it is a good idea to skip it."

"We can't give up just like that," said Velvet strongly. "Sure, we had a run of bad luck last time, but that just means we used up all our bad luck and we only have good luck left."

"That's an optimistic way of looking at it," said Sun approvingly.

"Well, in that case, I wanna compete in the next event," Sora offered. "There's no way I'm gonna lose after what happened last time. I'm gonna make them regret laughing at Team Sora."

"We really need to change the name," said Penny dryly.

"I like you're spirit, kid," said Sun, patting Sora's spiky head with a mischievous chuckle. "All right, you can take the next shot at the Games. Show those punks what a real Huntsman is capable of."

"If only we had a true Huntsman here," said Velvet jokingly.

"HEY!" yelled Sun and Sora together.

* * *

 **CROCUS**

The familiar energy of a million hands clapping and a million voices screaming was electric in the air surrounding the Domus Flau coliseum. Everyone in the stands raised their signs and called out for their favorite teams to cheer them on, but there was a major shift in the fan favorite since the last event. While there was a good majority in favor of the Sabretooth Guild, any fans that had previous cheered for the reigning champions now found favoritism in Team JNPR and Team SHDO, both of whom had excelled in the last competition. Though he did well to find it when the teams gathered to receive their next challenge, Sora could tell that Sting was agitated to have lost so many fans. When the challenge had been announced, Sora had found himself facing off against Sting Eucliffe, Nya-Tan, Honey Malaya, Nora Valkyrie, and Natsu Dragneel.

All of them are heavy hitters, Sora thought, this is not going to be easy.

Meanwhile, the Grand Magic Games commentators, Chapati Lola and Nio Hashiri, were standing by while joined by a new commentator to replace Miho Nishizume. The new guest commentator was an older and more voluptuous with exotic, mocha-brown skin that was complimented by her high, glossy-purple ponytail and narrowed golden eyes. Sun called her every man's "wet dream", whatever that meant.

" **It's day two of the Grand Magic Games and the stands are exploding with excitement!** " announced Chapati Lola. " **Joining me once again is Myojo Academy Arbitrator, Nio Hashiri! And our special gust commentator for the day, former captain of the Gotai 13's second division and all-around beautacious bombshell, Yoruichi Shihōin! Thank you for joining us, Miss Shihōin.** "

" **Please, call me Yoruichi,** " said Yoruichi with a confident grin. " **It's a real pleasure to be here. I've watched the Grand Magic Games every year, so it's a real honor to be commentating today.** "

" **A quick question for all your fans in the audience,** " interjected Nio, turning to Yoruichi. " **Whatever happened to you, Kisuke, Nel, Grimmjow, and all the other side characters that didn't show up in the last chapter of the manga?** "

" **Uuuuh – hey, why don't we tell everyone what today's event is?** " Yoruichi said quickly.

" **She deflected!** " yelped Nio.

" **Good idea, Yoruichi,** " said Chapati Lola immediately.

" **He's going along with it!** " yelled Nio.

Everyone's attention was drawn toward the center of the coliseum (and away from the major plot hole) as several holographic screens popped into existence circling the stadium. On the screen were a length row of flat wooden carts that slithered through the wide streets of Crocus below like a long, wooden snake.

" **The second event is already in progress as our competitors take on the chariots!** " announced Chapati Lola. " **For those of you just tuning in, the point of this game is to reach the final goal without falling off. Simple, right? Wrong! The chariots are constantly in motion, and though it's at a snail's pace, one false move could cost you! Which team will survive this rough and tumble sightseeing tour through Crocus and be the first to cross the finish line!** "

" **I can tell you who's not going to win it,** " said Nio with a wicked chuckle. " **And that would be Sting from Sabretooth and Natsu from Fairy Tail. Check 'em out!** "

Everyone's attention was drawn to the farthest screens on the right of the stadium displaying images of the two Dragon Slayers…and their expressions drooped into a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. Both having boasted being the strongest the competition had to offer; both Natsu Dragneel and Sting Eucliffe were in the very back of the chariot line, both trudging along without making any progress. Both Dragon Slayers looked like they were about to vomit – Natsu particularly had dropped to his knees six times and had to clap his hand over his mouth like his cheeks bulged with bile before swallowing it back down. Sting started taking a few steps ahead of Natsu, but then tripped on his own foot and fell on the cart with his face, moaning weakly.

" **You've seen a lot in your days, Yoruichi, but would you have ever predicted something remotely like this,** " asked Chapati Lola.

" **It was predictable from when the event was announced,** " said Yoruichi in a teasing tone. " **It's common knowledge that Dragon Slayers are easily susceptible to motion sickness. The more powerful they are, the worse the motion sickness becomes. Even standing on a mode of transportation can make them weak at the knees. I don't think we'll be seeing either of Eucliffe or Dragneel for the rest of the Games.** "

" **The way those two look, it'll be amazing if they stay conscious long enough to reach the finish line,** " said Nio, laughing. " **While those two fight for last place – and to keep their lunch – why don't we check up on the other contests near the front of the race?** **This race is neck-and-neck with Team Sora's spiky-haired wonder leading the pack; man, that kid has some serious speed on him. This contest might just be the chance for Team Sora to come back from behind.**

" **Don't count out the rest of the competition just yet, Nio** ," said Chapati Lola. " **Sora is being tailed closely behind by Team Eto's Nya-Tan, who is showing speed and flexibility like her namesake. Then there's Honey Malaya from Team SHDO following close behind; she sure is quick on her feet for a big woman. And bringing up the rear is Team JNPR's Nora Valkyrie. The finish line is less than a mile away and it's anybody's game.** "

" **Except for Sabretooth and Fairy Tail** ," Yoruichi pointed out.

Down in the Crocus streets, Sora was pacing himself well as he jumped to the next moving platform, slowly widening the gap with the rest of the competition. This was the perfect event for him, Sora thought. He had noticed throughout his adventure's that his speed had slowly been improving overtime until he came to realize that his enhanced quickness may be the result of his untapped semblance. When he pointed this out to Penny and Sun, they had recommended he start running regularly to push his semblance to the surface, and the results of that training were showing in this match. They had also pointed out that Ruby's semblance was also speed, but the scythe wielder didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing after what he knew about Ruby thus far.

He looked over his shoulder. Nya-Tan was nipping at his heels, running all all-fours like the cat goddess she was, bouncing back and forth across the sides of the platforms to jump greater distances. More than once, Nya-Tan came close enough to swipe her hand at Sora like a cat paw, but the scythe wielder barely managed to bend out of the way. And just a short distance behind them, Honey was proving to be a strong contender despite being the largest contestant in the Games. Every so often, there would be a faint yellow aura around her and then she could take a great leap forward, completely skipping an entire platform, then the aura would flash again and she would drop back down like a rock. And Nora…well, she didn't seem to have any plan other than running with her hammer swinging, screaming like a madwoman.

Then suddenly, Nya-Tan stopped in her tracks, letting Honey and Nora run ahead of her. All three competitors looked back in curiosity. The cat goddess was still crouched on all-four as a wicked grin spread across her lips, when a pair of enormous cat paws made from burning-blue energy popped into existence behind her. The air pressure around Nya-tan was thick and heavy that Sora felt like he was choking just being near her. Nya-Tan takes a great leap forward, flips around so that her feet is are in front, and begins to spin faster than even Sora's eyes can follow; the pressure around the cat goddess intensifies and the burning-blue energy gives her the impression of an drill.

" _ **CAT MACHINE GUN!**_ " screamed Nya-Tan.

Nya-Tan rocketed past Sora, Nora, and Honey in the blink of an eye. The pressure that followed in Nya-Tan's wake pushed against the competitors and even threw Sora and Nora backwards, blowing them back by three platforms. But honey managed to remain standing despite gale force winds pushing against her; the familiar yellow aura surrounded her body again and the wood underneath her feet started to break as if she suddenly weighed an extra hundred pounds.

" **And there it is, folks, Nya-tan's patented Cat Machine Gun!** " announced Chapati Lola excitedly. " **This was the technique Nya-Tan used to simultaneously defeat Lamia Scale's Lyon Vastia and Jura Neekis in the preliminary rounds, both wizards of great prominence and one of them a member of the Ten Wizard Saints. All I can say for our competitors is that they were lucky not to have been hit by this attack, or they would surely have been knocked out of the race.** "

" **They might not have been knocked out, but they certainly lost a lot of ground to the kitten,** " said Yoruichi, sounding impressed. " **It's gonna take a while before they can catch up again.** "

" **I don't think Honey feels like waiting** ," said Nio.

Nya-Tan had stopped spinning and that moment and resumed her pace at leaping across the moving platforms on all-fours. When the pressure finally eased off of the Bear Faunus, Honey's yellow aura flashed again and she took off down the raceway at a surprisingly blinding speed, kicking up a trail of dust in her wake. In less than five seconds, Honey had closed the distance from the Cat Goddess and was only a few feet behind. Nya-Tan gritted her teeth and put in an energy spurt of energy, trying to further the space between them even by a couple of inches.

" **Our competitors are giving it their all as they move closer to the finish line,** " said Chapati Lola. " **It looks like it might be a – wait, what is that approaching from the distance?** "

Chapati Lola's commentary echoed from Domus Flau back down into the streets of Crocus, meaning Nya-Tan and Honey could hear him as well. Both were driven by curiosity as they looked over their shoulder and noticed a massive dust cloud was picking up further down the chariot trail. When the Lacrima moved in closer for a better look, the screens showed Sora sprinting faster than he had ever before and was approaching the front runners at blinding speed. Nya-Tan and Honey yelped in shock and started pushing themselves harder. They could see the finish line just a few platforms ahead. At the rate each of them was going, it was uncertain who would come in first place.

" **It looks like it's going to be a photo finish,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Nya-Tan and Honey are fighting for the lead, but Sora is coming in hot behind them. This may be the most exciting match yet!** "

" **Hold on a minute,** " said Nio, raising a brow in curiosity. " **What's Valkyrie doing?** "

Nora had been chasing after the leader for a couple of minutes before she realized that there was no way she would be able to catch up to them and stopped halfway across one of the platforms, leaning forward holding her knees for support. She took a quick moment to catch her breath…and stood up with her hands clenched and wickedly excited smile.

"They're really going all out!" said Nora cheerfully. "That just gets me pumped up! There's no way I'm finishing this race without a fight!"

Nora reached behind and drew her hammer, raising it above her headed, and slammed it down on to the chariot. The wooden platform was snapped in half like a twig; both halves of the platform were now angling toward the sky and pulling against the chariots both ahead and behind. The sudden lurch from Nora's destructive strategy caused the rest of the raceway to be sharply pulled back and thrown off their tracks, breaking everything from their wheels to their connection railings. All the competitors who were in front of Nora were launched into the air; Sora flailed helplessly, Honey gritted her teeth fiercely, and Nya-Tan yelped in surprise.

" **I don't believe it!** " shouted Chapati Lola, watching Nora dash along the wreckage of the chariots. " **Nora demolished the chariots with brute force! All of the other competitors are helpless in the air while Nora has a clean break away for the finish line! Looks like Team JNPR will be taking home another win!** "

" **Don't be so sure about that** ," said Nio with a knowing chuckle. " **Looks like Nya-Tan has one last trick up her sleeve**."

As Nora dashed closer to the finish line, all eyes were suddenly on Nya-Tan as the tiny cat goddess slammed her fist into her palm and a burning wave of blue energy coated her hands. The cat girl turned in the air facing towards the rooftops of the Crocus streets as she pulled back her burning fist; a cat paw of the same energy formed above her hand. With a massive grunt of effort, Nya-Tan punched her fist at the nearest roof and shouted:

" _ **CAT GUN!**_ "

The energy paw print blew the rooftop apart, showering the streets with red shingles, while the recoil blasted Nya-Tan in the opposite direction.

Nora had jumped off the final platform in front of the Domus Flau coliseum and dashed for the white tape that marked the finish line when a blur of white and brown suddenly flew past her shoulder and ripped the tape in half. Nya-Tan slid across the ground on her knees with her fists pumped over her head and let out a celebratory yell as the audience exploded into cheers; confetti rained down above the zodiac goddess as the bell signaled the end of the event.

"And that's how you do it-nya!" Nya-Tan squealed happily.

" **Team Eto scores a full ten points!** " said Chapati Lola. " **Nora Valkyrie comes in close behind for second place, Sora arrives ahead at third, and Honey Malaya takes fourth! That just leaves a two-way battle for last place between Team Fairy Tail's Natsu Dragneel and Team Sabretooth's Sting Eucliffe.** "

"… **this looks like it's gonna take a while,** " said Nio in a bored tone, watching both Dragon Slayer struggle just to stand. " **Uh…what'dya say we just cut to commercial and go get some corndogs?** "

" **But it looks like Natsu Dragneel is about to say something deep and meaningful that will touch the hearts of millions of views around the world,** " said Yoruichi. Then she looks back at the screen and frowned. " **You said corndogs, right?** "

" **We pay separately,** " said Nio immediately.

" **Dammit,** " cursed Yoruichi.

* * *

" **And welcome back to the Grand Magic Games, folks!** " announced Chapati Lola to the cheering crowd, holding a single, half-eaten corndog in his hand. Next to him, Nio was gnawing on an entire bouquet of corndogs, and Yoruichi was slouching in her seat, snoring. " **Sorry about cutting the broadcast short, but we're pressed for time as it is and we live over to give our fans the very best in entertainment. So, after that long wait, he are the final totals for the Chariot Race. Nya-Tan came in first place for ten points, Nora Valkyrie came in second for eight points, Sora came in third for six points, Honey Malaya came in fourth for four points, Natsu Dragneel came in fifth for two points, and Sting Eucliffe scored no points for coming in last place. Combining these scores from the last event, here are the totals so far:**

 **Team JNPR – 26pts  
Team Sabertooth – 16pts  
Team Fairy Tail – 16pts  
Team SHDO – 14pts  
Team Eto – 12 pts  
Team Sora – 6pts**

" **The line-up is still the same from the last event** ," said Nio. " **Team JNPR is still in the lead while Team Sora is stuck in dead last. The only real difference is that Team Fairy Tail and Team Sabretooth are both fighting for second place. But the battle rounds are only just starting and one victory could turn the scores on their heads.** "

" **Right you are, Nio,** " said Chapati Lola. " **I've just been handed the line-up for today's matches and they are a doozy. So let's not keep the audience waiting and announce the first match of the Grand Magic Game's second day battle rounds! First up is…**

* * *

 **PYRRHA NIKOS vs. VELVET SCARLATINA**

Trumpets of fanfare blared and mixed with the screams of overexcited fan as both contestants stepped onto the field. Coming in from the left side of the arena was Pyrrha Nikos – her scarlet-red hair that was normally left loose now tied into a high ponytail – carrying a red-and-gold javelin in one hand and a bronze shield in the other. As she stepped onto the field, Sora realized that this would be the first time he had ever seen Pyrrha fight since she didn't participate in either of the Grimm's attempts to invade Traverse Town. From Penny's personal testimony, Pyrrha was one of the few Huntresses to ever match Yang Xiao-Long in combat ability. It made Sora wonder how Velvet would fare as the Rabbit Faunus emerged from the opposite tunnel, taking off her glasses and tucking them away safely.

" **It's time for the moment you've all been waiting for: the battle portion!** " announced Chapati Lola. " **Today, we have a match of the fairest ladies the Grand Magic Games has to offer. From Team JNPR, we have Pyrrha Nikos, whom we are told has been winning in competitive tournaments since she was thirteen. Wow, that's some record.** "

" **Now don't go underestimating Scarlatina,** " said Yoruichi. " **She's the unknown factor of the competition. Since she didn't participate in the preliminary rounds, her opponents have no idea what she's capable of. Plus, just look at those adorable bunny ears!** " Velvet visibly blushed when Yoruichi squealed over the microphone. " **She just looks so cute and cuddly. Who could ever want to hurt a precious little cutie like her?** "

"Please…stop…," mumbled Velvet embarrassingly.

"Well, she's not wrong – I've always thought you were adorable back at Beacon," said Pyrrha kindly; Velvet blushed harder. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you. I'll come at you with everything I have."

"Then I will do the same," said Velvet, moving into a fighter's stance. "You know, now that I think about it, this is the first time we've fought against each other."

"Hmm, I guess you right," hummed Pyrrha. "In that case, we don't we make it interesting? How about a little bet to motivate us both."

"A bet?" Velvet repeated. "What kind of bet?"

"How about…," said Pyrrha, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "The loser has to pose outside the coliseum wearing only a tiny bikini."

The crowd's reaction was to be expected; hoots and howls from every man in the stadium rang like roaring thunder while the women were made up of a mixture of disgust, shock, surprise, and even a few of them with their own lecherous grins. Sun even joined in on the catcalling until Penny flashed a photo of his wife; the monkey Faunus coughed in his fist and looked away like he was snubbing the outrageous bet. Sora, he was ashamed to admit, was conflicted. He wanted his team to win the Games but…the thought of Velvet in a tiny bikini….He was starting to feel a little lightheaded. And all the while, Velvet's face was redder than a ripe tomato and her ears fell flat against her head.

"B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-," stuttered Velvet.

"So, do we have a bet?" asked Pyrrha boldly.

"Uh – uh – uh!" squealed Velvet as her voice got higher and higher. "Y-You're on!"

" **Unbelievable!** " screamed Chapati Lola only the wild howls, sweating up a storm. " **No matter who loses this fight, everybody is a winner!** "

" **Reel it in, baldy,** " said Nio, kicking her fellow commentator out of his chair. " **Enough jawing! Let's fight!** "

The gong rang to signal the start of the round and Pyrrha shot forward at once with her shield held in front of her. Velvet distracted herself when she imagined the embarrassment of posing for strangers in a bikini than she didn't realize the match had started until Pyrrha slammed her in the face, making the Rabbit Faunus fall backward in a daze. Pyrrha then switched turned the javelin in her hand and stabbed it on top of Velvet. The Rabbit Faunus pulled herself out of her stupor just before, planted her left hand firmly on the ground, and twisted her body around to avoid the jab. Pyrrha's weapons stabbed into the dirt as Velvet twirled around back to feet and followed up with a sharp kick from the side. Though her weapon was still buried in the ground, Pyrrha pulled the javelin to the side to block the kick with her weapon's shaft. Velvet's foot bounced off the rod and she used the momentum to spin around for a reverse side kick, but Pyrrha's pulled her javelin to block again. The Rabbit Faunus bounced off again, planting her feet properly on the ground, and skillfully flipped backward when Pyrrha took a swing at her with her shield.

Pyrrha ripped her javelin out of the ground and shot it toward her opponent. As the spear weapon came flying at her, Velvet flipped backward again and kicked the underside of the javelin's blade, sending it spiraling toward the sky. And when the javelin came back down, Velvet spun around on one foot for extra momentum, kicked the butt of Pyrrha's weapon with the sole of her sneakers, and sent the weapon flying back to it bearer. Pyrrha remained impressively calm and held out her hand toward the approaching lance. A faint black aura possessed the javelin as it slowed to a crawl in midair then flipped around to land squarely in her open palm.

With her weapon returned to her, Pyrrha refocused her attention on Velvet, only to immediately raise her shield to her defense. The Rabbit Faunus came down hard on her old underclassman wielding a massive axe blade of light that grinded against the steel of Pyrrha's shield, spraying sparks everywhere. Pyrrha grimaced as Velvet pushed all her weight into the axe and forced the scarlet-haired woman to drop on one knee.

"You've always been so strong and skilled Pyrrha, but you've always had one obvious weakness," said Velvet, grunting with effort. "You're entire fighting style relies heavily on the use of your semblance. You've always had the advantage because opponent's weapons were always made of metal and you could manipulate their polarity to work for you. But that won't work against me because my weapons are made of solid light. There's no metal to manipulate."

"Ugh…I should have expected as much from you, Velvet," said Pyrrha, grimacing but also smiling at the same time. "Your meek appearance belies your fierce fighting spirit."

" **Watching those two go at it is really getting the crowd going,** " said Yoruichi. " **Just listen to those cheers.** "

" **I'm pretty sure that's just them looking forward to the photo-op after the Games,** " said Nio pointedly. " **Perversion aside, this is really turning to be one of the better matches, possibly rivaling the match the other day between Penny from Team Sora and Erza from Team Fairy Tail. Both competitors are going back and forth without either side giving any leeway. But as Velvet has clearly pointed out, Pyrrha appears to be struggling against her non-metal opponent.** "

" **What kind of bikini do you think she'll be wearing?** " asked Chapati Lola, who was panting heavily. " **Maybe a frilly lace or a – OOH!** "

Nio punched him squarely in the jaw.

Pyrrha flipped the spear in her hand and stabbed at Velvet's foot; the Rabbit Faunus pulled her leg up at the last second. With Velvet only balanced on one leg, Pyrrha pushed all her weight against her shield and shoved her opponent back as the solid light axe faded. Pyrrha flipped her javelin around again, but this time the weapon transformed into a rifle with Pyrrha's eye traveling down the barrel. The scarlet-haired huntress fired off the first shot and Velvet barely ducked away in time; the bullet barely brushed against her left ear. Pyrrha fired a second shot and Velvet threw herself to the ground before the bullet whizzed past her abdomen. The Rabbit Faunus then started rolling as Pyrrha repeatedly shot on the ground, kicking up the dirt in her path.

Velvet's weapon flickered to life as the Rabbit Faunus kick-flipped back to her feet, creating a star-spangled shield made of solid light that deflected Pyrrha's rifle. The Rabbit Faunus jumped out of the way as her scarlet-haired underclassman shot off another round, spinning in midair, and tossing the starry-shield. The solid light construct curved around in the air at a wide arc and smacked against the muzzle of Pyrrha's rifle, knocking the weapon out of her hand. Before Pyrrha's could recover, Velvet bounced forward and slammed her heel into Pyrrha's chest, knocking the warrior woman back toward the edge of the stadium.

For the longest time, Pyrrha just lay there motionless on the ground as Velvet bounced on her toes, ready to react when the warrior woman would no doubt counter…. But after two full minutes and Pyrrha hadn't even opened her eyes, Velvet started to get nervous. The Rabbit Faunus stopped bouncing, cautiously walked over, crouched down, and started shaking Pyrrha's shoulder. She didn't respond.

"Uh…Pyrrha…you're not dead again, right?" asked Velvet nervously. "Pyrrha?"

"She's not dead," Velvet looked up just as Jaune landed next to them; the bell rang immediately. "She's just knocked out. She's…not as strong as she used to be."

" **Team JNPR's leader has jumped into ring!** " shouted Chapati Lola. They watched Jaune lift Pyrrha off the ground; her body went limp. " **That calls for an immediate disqualification!** "

" **I don't think it really mattered,** " said Nio, casually gnawing on her last corndog while lifting up a paper she just received. " **According to Niko's medical record, she suffers from chronic chest pains as a result from an old wound to her sternum. My guess is that when Scalartina kicked her in the chest, she pressed down on Niko's old wound. The pain from the hit must have been intense enough to knock her unconscious.** "

" **Looks like Arc is taking her to the medical wing – such a sweet boy,** " said Yoruichi with a mischievous smirk. " **But regardless, looks the little bun-bun is the winner of the match. And you know what that means, boy! Bikini season is open, staring Pyrrha Nikos!** "

The din of the audiences screams was loud enough to shatter the windows of every household in Crocus. Though Velvet looked apologetically at Pyrrha as Jaune carried her into the tunnel, she let out a sigh of relief knowing that she wasn't going to have to pose half-naked in front of a crowd. Sora and Sun, on the other hand, felt a little conflicted over this outcome.

* * *

 **DOMINO BONES vs. MO-TAN**

The crowd was wild with excitement (mostly due to the opportunity of a lifetime taking place after the Games) as Domino Bones stepped into the arena, doing a quick check of her twin pistols before holstering them with an exaggerated twirl. But when the blind sniper's opponent stepped onto the field, there was plenty of confusion in the audience's voices – Domino herself could only "see" an aura that she was unfamiliar with.

To those who still had their sight, the representative from Team Eto was twice the size of her teammates; a very lean, well-endowed adult woman with wavy, long pink hair that fell beneath her hips. Her rather immodest attire was a Holstein-styled bikini that looked to be straining against her mammary glands beneath a small burlap vest. She wore very small denim shorts with cow-patterned chaps, a single red glove on her right hands, a red scarf around her neck, and a cow-styled cowboy hat. She did a quick spin around, facing the viewing box reserved for Team Eto, and gave a flirty wink to Nya-Tan – the cat Zodiac felt a big chill run down her spine.

" **Moving on to the second match, we have Domino Bones from Team SHDO!** " announced Chapati Lola, receiving a renewed wave of cheers from the stands. " **Domino Bones has quickly become a fan favorite, both for dominating the Hidden Game, and for being a symbol for people with disabilities, proving that it doesn't matter if you're blind and crippled if you wanna kick butt. But as for her opponent…I can honestly say I have no idea who that is. She wasn't in the preliminaries, was she, Miss Hashiri?** "

" **I've got a letter coming in now,** " said Nio as one of the staff dropped the paper in front of her. " **According to Team Eto, Ki-Tan still hasn't reincarnated from her match against Sting of Team Sabretooth. They have no idea when she might come back, so they are bringing in their substitute to compete in the Games until such a time when Ki-Tan returns.** "

" **That's under the assumption that the monkey girl comes back in time,** " said Yoruichi. " **From what I heard, an Eto-Shin's reincarnation can range somewhere between a few days to a few weeks. But since all teams are allowed to have a fifth player as a substitute, Team Eto isn't breaking any rules and this…cowgirl should be allowed to compete.** "

"Why did you ask Mo-Tan to join, Nya-Tan?" Uri-Tan asked curiously. "Chu-Tan would have been the better choice since she's the strongest Eto-Shin, or even Shima-Tan or Dora-Tan."

"Ugh…," Nya-Tan grimaced. "Mo-Tan said she was gonna take me up the stairway to adulthood last night…it was the only thing I could think of to distract her."

"I get the feeling I shouldn't have asked," said Uri-Tan, sweat dropping.

Meanwhile, down in the arena…

"Hello!" said Mo-Tan in a perfect American accent. "It's nice to meet you."

"Same to you," said Domino politely.

"You're name's so cool," said Mo-Tan eagerly. "I wish I had a name like Domino Bones. I just got stuck with Mo-Tan – it makes me sound like a cow." She added, pouting.

"You are a cow!" Nya-Tan's tsukkomi was spot on.

"Actually, Domino Bones is just my code name," said Domino.

"You lied to me!" Mo-Tan gasped in shock.

"What're you talking about?" asked Domino, tilting her head.

"All right, that'll be our bet!" shouted Mo-Tran, pointing her finger at the blind woman challengingly. "If I win, you have to tell me your real name! And if you win, I'll tell you one of my secrets!"

"Sounds intriguing," said Domino, smirking confidently. "It's a deal."

" **Looks like more competitors are striking another friendly wager,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Looks like this is going to be a recurring theme for today's matches.** "

" **I think the fans are more interested in knowing what Domino's real name is than knowing whatever secret the cow has,** " said Nio harshly. " **Let's not keep them waiting any longer! Start the match already!** "

At the ringing of the bell, Mo-Tan immediately stampeded toward Domino like a rampaging bull with her arm outstretched for a clothesline tackle. Because she could only see the blurred aura of the Eto-Shin rushing toward her, Domino miscalculated the distance between them when she pulled out her right pistol and left herself vulnerable as Mo-Tan slammed her across the midsection. Domino let out a suffocating gasp. A gloss shine appeared very briefly around Domino before it shattered to pieces like broken glass. With a major grunt of effort from Mo-Tan, the Holstein warrior threw Domino to the ground and watched her slide across the field until she slammed into the wall with a thunderous _**crash!**_

" **Holy heifers! Mo-Tan wastes no time beating back the competition!** " yelled Chapati Lola.

"Oh Crap, she just blew out Domino's aura shield in one shot!" shrieked Stella in a fit of panic.

"It was to be expected," said Olive calmly. "Out of all of us, Domino has always been the weakest in terms of hand-to-hand combat. Her strategy has always relied on us being on the front lines while she found a perch to shoot down her targets from a distance. But in this scenario, Domino has no coverage and no place for her to run where Mo-Tan cannot reach her. Adding the fact that Mo-Tan is superior in terms of both physical strength and speed, I am afraid to say that this match-up is completely one-sided."

"Olive, sweetie, you know I love you with all my heart," said Stella sweetly, and then hanged her head in depression. "But could you please keep the analytical commentary to yourself."

Domino sat up with a deep frown and her visor askew. The blind sniper readjusted the headset and tapped the button on the side; the headpiece hummed as the neon line glowed again, restoring Domino's very limited sense of "sight". She saw the pink blob of aura that was Mo-Tan rushed at her again. Domino quickly snatched up both pistols off the ground and fired of six shots one after another. Mo-Tan continued her charge even after the Huntress fired on her, but puffed out her chest so that the bullets would hit her squarely in her bountiful bosoms. The ammunition ricocheted harmlessly off her breasts, causing them to jiggle with a _**boing, boing**_ sound effect. The crowed and Chapati Lola howled and hooted until their voices went hoarse; all the girls held their chests self-consciously.

Domino couldn't picture what happened and had to cover her ears when the crowd started screaming for some reason, nullifying her "sight". Crippled by the noise, Domino didn't even put up a fight when Mo-Tan suddenly grabbed her by the collar and hoisted her up into the air. The heavy heifer lifted her blind opponent over her head with her hands firmly latched onto Domino sides and, with and furious roar of power, slammed Domino back into the ground on top of her head. The ground exploded under the heavy assault; the arena floor ripped apart into a massive spider-web of risen stone fractures and deep, jagged cracks. Everyone could feel the quake from their seats in the stands and some clung to each other in fright.

The moment soon passed and the dust started to settle. Mo-Tan took a big step back, wiping the sweat from her brow and put her fists to her to her hips with her chest jutted out in pride. Her opponent was buried halfway in the small crater that they made, her legs hanging backwards limply and motionless. The bell rang shortly thereafter.

" **And there it is, folks!** " shouted Chapati Lola as the crowd finally regained their senses and started cheering. " **A flawless victory ending with a total knock out! Mo-Tan wins team points for her team, and combining those ten points with the ten Nya-Tan earned in the Chariot race, Team Eto ends the day with a perfect score. This will jump them straight into second place.** "

" **Though Team JNPR still leads the teams by four points,** " said Nio. " **And though Mo-Tan did win the bet, it doesn't look like Bones will be telling anyone her secret for a while** " – she gestured to the unconscious sniper that was being hauled away by the paramedics – " **Yeah…she totally overdid it**."

"Way to go, Mo-Tan!" Nya-Tan. "That showing them how its – eh?"

Mo-Tan just into the air high above the cat zodiac, her hands outstretched in a groping motion.

"I won for Nya-Tan's love!" squealed Mo-Tan amorously. "Please reward me for my hard work, Nya-Tan – MY – DAR – LING!"

Nya-Tan shrieked with a fright and turned to run away, but it was too late; Mo-Tan crashed landed right on top of her. No one could see what was going on in the viewing box because of the wall blocking them, but Uri-Tan and Inu-Tan both shared terrified looks while their faces gathered a bright-red tinge. A short skirt was tossed over the wall, followed shortly by a pair of boots, socks, and a sailor uniform. Nya-Tan clawed her way to the edge of the wall, only showing her head and bare shoulders, looking as if she was faced with the Grim Reaper himself.

"Someone get the cattle prod!" screamed Nya-Tan.

"OH – MY – DARLING!" Mo-Tan cooed, pulling Nya-Tan back down.

* * *

 **YUKINO AGURIA vs LUCY HEARTFILIA**

" **After an exciting day, the final match of day two of the Grand Magic Games is about to take place,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Today's final match will be Fairy Tail's Celestial Wizard, Lucy Heartfilia, and Sabertooth's own Celestial Wizard, Yukino Aguria. Both contestants are proficient wielders of Celestial Spirit Magic, but who in your professional opinion do you think will win this match, Yoruichi?** "

" **That's tough to say,** " said Yoruichi. " **Heartfilia does have more keys than Aguria, and therefore has more options to choose from, but Sabertooth has been the champions for the past seven years for a reason. I suppose it just comes down to who has the stronger bonds with their spirits.** "

"We need to score some points since Sting decided to give up halfway through the Chariot game," said Rogue said pointedly; Sting growled and Neo snickered derisively.

"I know, but Sting is not to blame for that," said Yukino compassionately. "The fact that the game involved vehicles was unfortunate."

"We can't change that now," Sting grumbled. "I just hope you know what you gotta do. We're counting on you."

"Yes, I will not tarnish the name Sabertooth," said Yukino as she stepped onto the field. "And I will achieve victory without fail."

Meanwhile with Fairy Tail…

"Do your best out there, Lucy," said Erza encouragingly. "If you stay strong, I'm sure you can win."

"Don't go underestimating Sabertooth," said Gray warningly. "They aren't the top ranked guild for nothing. They have two strong Dragon Slayers and the quiet girl's pretty tough herself. Watch your back out there."

"Yeah right, there's no way Lucy would lose to those jerks!" roared Natsu.

"Don't worry, you guys, I won't let you down!" said Lucy confidently.

Both Celestial wizards approached the battlefield at the same time; the wind blew their hair and clothes dramatically as the crowd's vocal support sounded miles away. While Lucy steeled herself for battle, Yukino's expression was cold and distant, like she had completely wiped away all feeling in her heart. They stopped just a few feet apart, staring deep into each other's eyes, neither flinching nor looking away.

" **Lucy Heartfilia has earned a reputation as one of the shining stars of Fairy Tail,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Her accomplishments include arresting a corrupt Politian, body slamming Lamia Scale's Sherry Blendy, and defeating Angel of the infamous Oracion Seis. On the other hand, not much is known about Yukino's track record; however the fact that she was chosen to represent the mighty Sabertooth in the Games is believed to be a force to be reckoned with.** "

" **No one cares, just start the match already!** " yelled Nio and the gong rang throughout the stadium.

"It is an honor to have a chance to face you, Lucy Heartfilia," said Yukino politely. "I looked up to you when I was a little girl. You inspired me to become a better Celestial wizard."

"Aw, thanks," said Lucy, blushing and scratching her head shyly.

"So, shall we do as the others before us and make a wager?" asked Yukino.

"Well, sure, I guess," said Lucy with a hint of uncertainty. "But I'm not handing over my keys if that's what you're asking."

"I would never ask of such a thing," said Yukino. "As a Celestial wizard, I understand how much you cherish the bonds with your Celestial Spirits. Instead, we shall wager…our lives."

The crowd fell into a stunned silence. Most of the contestants from the other teams like Team Eto, Team Sora, and Team Fairy Tail were shocked and grimaced; other groups like Team JNPR and Team SHDO did not seem as surprised by the challenge; Sting from Sabretooth was actually smirking in satisfaction. Chapati Lola's mouth was hanging open at the outrageous request, Yoruichi looked mostly impassive with her eyes narrowed slightly, and Nio…. Nio's grin was stretched wider that it had ever been; you would actually see her sharp, pointed teeth flashing in the distance.

" **Ooh, these Games are finally starting to get interesting,** " said Nio with a cruel little chuckle.

"Our lives?" Lucy repeated, horrified. "There's no way I can –"

"I will not give you a choice in the matter," said Yukino. She withdrew her hands from her feathery cloak, flashing a golden key between her fingers. "Facing a member of Sabretooth was an unfortunate fate for you, Lucy Heartfilia. For now this tiger will feast on the flesh of fairies. **Open, Gate of the Paired Fish! Pisces!** "

A flash of brilliant-blue light exploded from where she stabbed the air and a sound akin to a doorbell rang out. From the small source of light, two massive eel-like creatures popped into existence and started to look the edges of the coliseum. They both had the same unnaturally large mouths full of square, human-like teeth, wide and unblinking eyes, and fins flapping on the sides of their heads. The only difference between the two was that one of them was white and the other was black in terms of scale coloring. Lucy took a step back when the eel beasts looped around one another and coiled together, facing the blonde wizard with their mouths handing open like they were about to devour her at any moment.

"Holy crap, those are some big-ass fish!" yelled Inu-Tan.

"Wait, those are fish?" shouted Uri-Tan in shock.

The white fish dived at Lucy; the Celestial wizard bounded out of the way with a panicked squeal. Lucy hit the ground on her hands and knees until she noticed a dark shadow started to grow around her and looked up just seconds before the black Pisces slammed head first into the mage from Fairy Tail. There was some clear, vocalized concern from the Fairy Tail box, but their worry quickly changed to glee when a golden light flashed on the battlefield and a clear voice sounded out:

" **Open, Gate of the Ram! Aries!** "

Before they realized what was happening, both head of Pisces were shoved away as what appeared to be a gigantic dome of pink wool literally _poofed_ in the middle of the arena. The Paired Fish curved around the air and tried to headbutt the fluffy dome from above, but the Celestial Spirit merely bounced off the mound of fluff and flopped onto the ground, nearly landing on top of Yukino. A hole opened up in the wooly dome and Lucy stepped back onto the field alongside a woman with cotton candy-pink hair, twisted horns, and a fluffy woolen dress. Everyone in the audience, including Penny and Sun, cooed at how adorable the new spirit was, especially when she was fidgeting so shyly.

"I'm sorry," Aries apologized shyly. "I know I'm not good enough to fight since I so weak. I'm sorry I'm so useless."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Aries, you did a great job," said Lucy kindly as she drew out another key. "Okay, time to go on the offensive! **Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!** "

Another flash of light and a hulking, humanoid figure of a muscular cow-man carrying an oversized battle axe emerged on the battlefield with a roaring ' _Moo!_ ' ("Hey, he's stealing my shtick!" yelled Mo-Tan indignantly).

The Paired Fish slithered back into their routine of looping around the coliseum, covering most of the arena with their lengthy bodies, until they curved in the air simultaneously and dived at Lucy's team. Taurus roared (or mooed, if we were using technical terms) as he leapt forward to meet the Pisces halfway; Lucy in the meantime sent Aries back to the Spirit World since she was no longer needed. The Holstein spirit slapped his axe across the black Pisces' face to knock it sideways into the stands, but the white Pisces curved around and headbutted Taurus from the side and slammed them both into the ground. It took a moment before the dust started to settle, but everyone looked on in amazement as Taurus stood firmly on his feet, throwing all his weight against his axe while Pisces kept pushing forward, leaving them both in a stalemate. When the black Pisces started to come around from the side, Taurus suddenly sidestepped and allowed the white fish to fly right past him, leaving him vulnerable from the side. Taurus howled (mooed) as he swung his axe at white Pisces and slammed the white eel beast into its negative counterpart.

" **Just look at them go!** " said Chapati Lola excitedly. " **This truly is a battle between master class Celestial wizards! Yukino seemed to have the upper hand at first, but Lucy is really starting to turn things around!** "

" **Pisces is a powerful spirit in its own right, being one of the twelve Zodiac,** " said Nio knowingly. " **But having only one Zodiac can't match up to the power of two.** "

" **That might very well change soon enough,** " said Yoruichi with a smirk as she looked toward Yukino.

"I would expect nothing less from the woman I admired, but…" said Yukino as she drew another golden key. "Admiration will not keep me from achieving victory. **Open, Gate of the Heavenly Scales! Libra!** "

This time a tan-skinned woman with dark hair tied up into pointed cones and dressed like an Arabian belly dancer emerged on the field, floating a few feet off the ground and dangling a pair of brass scales on her fingertips. Without even having to hear a command from her summoner, Libra waved her scales in a circular pattern while her narrow eyes were focused on Lucy and Taurus. Without warning, but Lucy and her Holstein hero were somehow "falling" into the sky as if gravity had suddenly been reversed.

"What the heck?" shouted Lucy in surprise.

"Libra's special power is to alter the field of gravity around a targeted zone," explained Yukino. "And now that you are off balance – Pisces, send her Spirit back to the Celestial World!"

The Paired Fish turned in the air toward the axe-wielding heifer. Taurus tried swinging his axe at the approaching eel beasts with all his effort, but without solid ground from which he could support himself, his axe blade only bounced off Pisces' scales. Black Pisces struck first, slamming Taurus in the chest, then white Pisces looped around the back to slam the cow man from behind; black Pisces threw his body into Taurus' face, and his white counterpart bit down on the Spirit's leg. And to finish their dance, both white and black Pisces coiled around each other and corkscrewed the Golden Bull squarely in the chest. That final strike was enough to make Taurus explode into a shower of golden particles (Penny explained that Taurus didn't die, but went back to the Celestial Spirit world).

"Taurus!" cried Lucy.

" **Uh oh, looks like Lucy is in trouble!** " said Chapati Lola excitedly.

" **Heartfilia better think of something quick of she's dead in the water,** " commented Nio.

Everyone watched as Lucy floated helplessly in the air under Libra's spell as Pisces took turns slapping the poor Celestial wizard around. A quick headbutt to the chest, followed by a slap to the shoulder, added by a repeated change in the gravity field that left Lucy fairly disoriented. Two straight minutes of being served as Yukino's play thing and she starting to show signs of bruising; Sting was beside himself with laughter while Neo was grinning sadistically; Erza had to hold Natsu beck to keep him from running over into Sabretooth's box.

Lucy accepted another headbutt from Pisces, holding her sore ribcage, when she decided enough was enough. She whipped out another one of her keys and shouted:

" **Open, Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!** "

Another flash of golden light and Lucy's new Spirit floated within the gravity field as his summoner. Now Sora knew astrology quite well since there was little else to do on the island except watch the stars at night and knew that Sagittarius was meant to be the centaur spirit with a bow and arrow. She you could imagine his dumbfounded expression when he saw not a majestic centaur, but a plain-faced man dressed in the cheapest horse costume imaginable, carrying a market-brand bow and quiver over his shoulders. Reality really sucked, thought Sora.

"Howdy do, my lady!" said Sagittarius nobly with a proud salute. "How may I be of serve to you this fine evening?"

"Take out that Spirit!" shouted Lucy urgently, pointing down at Libra.

"As you command!" said Sagittarius.

Though not a majestic horse-man or even remotely elegant or handsome, the cosplaying Celestial Spirit was quick in drawing his bow and notching the arrow against the string before Sora even had a chance to blink. The costumed archer did not even take the time to aim properly before he let the arrow fly. The arrow flew through the gravity field like it had a mind of its own, sweeping around Pisces' coiled bodies and shot true at the balancing dancer on the ground. Libra only gasped before the arrow jabbed her between the eyes and exploded into billions of light particles. With the Spirit sent back to the Celestial World, the gravity field returned to normal and Lucy landed safely in a crouched position back on the ground just as she pulled out another key (Sagittarius landed gracelessly on his face.)

"Thanks a lot, Sagittarius," said Lucy gratefully as the archer faded with a salute. "All right, I'm not pulling any more punches. I'm bringing out one of my strongest Spirits! **Open, Gate of the Lion! Leo!** "

Another bright flash, another doorbell sound effect. This time the Celestial Spirit summoned was a handsome-looking man with orange hair nearly as spiky as Sora's, two of which looked like they could be mistaken for cat ears. He was dressed very dapper in a pressed and clean suit and tied with a pair of blue-tin ted sunglasses. Just one smile from the handsome gentleman and nearly every woman swooned, but Leo seemed to be more interested in her Celestial wizard given the way he was holding her so intimately; Lucy, on the other hand, seemed less than impressed.

"Hey, Lucy, it's been a while since you called me out," said Leo suavely. "What do you say we ditch this crowd and go somewhere more private? I know this great Italian restaurant on honey bee road."

"How about a little less flirting and a little more fighting, huh?" said Lucy exasperatedly.

As if to prove her point, Pisces slid into view of the pair and coiled in a full circle around them, closing them into a confined space. With their pray trapped, both heads of Pisces curved in the air and lunged downward with their mouth opened hungrily. Leo's expression instantly turned serious as he stepped forward while pushing his summoner behind him. He grappled his right wrist with his left hand and a radiant glow began to build around the hand, making Pisces cringe from the sheer brightness.

"You slithering sushi platters think you can touch my sweet Lucy and get away with it?" said Leo strongly. "You're about to learn the hard way what happened when you mess with my wizard. _**REGULAS IMPACT!**_ "

Leo punched his fist into the air and a lion's head made of pure light flittered into existence with a fierce roar that shook the stadium to its core. Pisces gapped in fright before the shining lion engulfed them in its brilliance and the Paired Fish exploded into a billion golden particles all over the stadium. Yukino let out a surprised gasped with her arm raised to shield herself from the shockwave. She lowered her hand and shared into the dust cloud where her faithful Paired Fish had been but a moment away…and squeak when Lucy suddenly jumped out of the smoke and charged at her with a determined look in her eyes.

"Super Ultimate Mega Special Attack!" shouted Lucy.

" **What's this? Lucy Heartfillia has had a secret move up her sleeve this whole time?** " shouted Chapati Lola. " **What could it be? Is it some new magic that's never been seen before? Will Yukino survive from this devastating attack?** "

Lucy and Yukino stared each other down as the blonde Celestial wizard made her final approach, jumped up…and kicked Yukino in the chin.

"LUCY KICK!" shouted Lucy.

" **THAT'S JUST AN ORDINARY KICK!** " screamed Chapati Lola, Nio, and Yoruichi in unison.

Maybe the kick hit harder than they thought, or maybe she was stunned by the ridiculous of the move, but either way, Yukino hit the ground on her back and didn't get back up. Ten seconds later with Yukino still not standing, the bell rang and ended the match.

" **It looks like…that's the match, folks,** " said Chapati Lola, seemingly still recovering from the shock. " **And the winner is Fairy Tail's Lucy Heartfilia!** " The crowd also took a moment to recover before they exploded into a fresh wave of cheers. " **This is unprecedented! For the first time in seven years, Sabertooth has been unable to score a single point!** "

" **I'll bet Torchwick's not gonna be happy about that** ," said Nio with a sneering laugh.

"I've been…defeated…," Yukino's voice came out in short gasps, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "I've let Sabertooth down. And now…my life…is yours."

"Hey, come on, we were serious about that bet, right?" said Lucy uncomfortably. "Relax, I'm not gonna – EEK!"

Lucy jumped back in fright; Yukino's face twisted in horror…. Neo was standing above her defeated teammate…and she did not look pleased; the shadow silhouetted her heterochromia eyes, giving her a very darkened expression.

"Please, forgive me," Yukino pleaded pitifully. "I swear, I didn't – YAAH!"

Neo grabbed Yukino her the roots of her silvery hair and pulled up sharply, forcing the Celestial wizard to her knees; tears started to stream down Yukino's face. Neo pulled at her hair again and Yukino let out a tormented wail.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Lucy demanded.

But Neo did not feel it necessary to listen to the Fairy. She pulled at Yukino's hair again and started to drag the Celestial wizard on her knees to the tunnel on the opposite side of the arena rather than the one directly to their right. All of the contestants knew why. Neo wanted to humiliate Yukino; make her suffer in front of a large crowd of people. And the sad thing is, despite wanting to jump in and stop it…everyone knew they couldn't lift a finger to help Yukino. She was in Sabertooth, which meant they had their own rules and no one from the outside could do a thing to change it. Lucy could only stand there and watched with a painful throb in her chest as Neo pulled at Yukino's hair harder.

"What's she gonna do to her?" asked Sora, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Knowing Torchwick…nothing good," growled Sun.

" **Ladies and gentlemen, that wraps up day two of the Grand Magic Games!** " announced Chapati Lola. " **Here are the final scores from today's events.** "

 **Team JNPR – 26pts  
Team Fairy Tail – 26pts  
Team Eto – 22 pts  
Team Sabertooth – 16pts  
Team Sora – 16pts  
Team SHDO – 14pts**

" **Team JNPR still holds the lead with twenty-six points,** " said Nio, " **but now they are being contested for the same position by Team Fairy Tail, who also has twenty-six points. This is a real turnaround for the guild that always ends up in last place. After earning first place and winning in the battle round, Team Eto leaps into third with twenty-two points while Sabertooth takes a nasty drop into fourth with sixteen points. Team Sora barely manages to scrape into fifth place with sixteen points, and Team SHDO takes a serious drop to last place with fourteen points. You know, it seems to be a recurring theme that the crowd favorite always do worse as the Games progress.** "

" **But the Games are only just getting underway and we still have a long way to go before the final event on day five!** " said Chapati Lola eagerly. " **I'd like to thank Yoruichi Shihōin for joining us today!** "

" **It was my pleasure,** " said Yoruichi.

" **And until next time, I'm Chapati Lola,** " said Chapati Lola.

" **And I'm Nio Hashiri,** " said Nio with a two-fingered salute. " **Good night, everybody!** "

* * *

 **I felt I could have done better with Pyrrha and Velvet's fight as well as Mo-Tan and Domino's fight, but the real main focus of the chapter was Lucy and Yukino's fight, so I put more quality into them than the others. It's for plot purposes, you understand. Anyway, there are two more worlds to choose from, but depending on which world get's the most votes, there may be a surprise chapter in store.**

 **A) Arkham Asylum**

 **B) Inkopolis**

 **Please, read and review.**


	24. Welcome to Silent Hill, Part 1

_**A/N:**_ **Since the voting ended in a tie, I had to go with a third option I had been planning for later.**

 **Chapter Twenty-Three: Welcome to Silent Hill, Part 1**

Team Sora left Crocus in a better mood than they had the last time in the wake of the Grand Magic Game's second day closing. Even though they were still ranked close to the bottom of the ladder, their chances had greatly improved since Sora took third in the race and Velvet defeated Pyrrha (although Velvet argued that it wasn't a real fight since Pyrrha has a chronic injury). The only drawback was that while Sora and Velvet were being showered in praise, people were still remembering Sun and Penny's…less than spectacular performances on the first day; a metaphorical cloud was hanging over their heads. But they pushed that all aside so that could focus on the task at hand: picking the next stop.

The Gummi ship displaying a large, holographic map of the galaxy on the cockpit window for everyone to see. It showed the worlds that they had already visited (Traverse Town, Deadman Wonderland, Yamatai, Crocus, and Mid-Childa) and the two new destinations they got from Riot Force 6 (Arkham Asylum and Inkopolis). Next to the new worlds were the mugshots of villains they knew were members of Zeref's Cabal. Penny, Sun, and Velvet were up in the front arguing where they would head next while Sora stayed in back with the corndogs he got from Crocus. They were oddly satisfying despite know what went into making them.

"I say we head to Arkham Asylum," said Penny insistently. "We have evidence that Team RWBY has visited Gotham City ten years ago and the police reports Hayate acquired say that Weiss was the one that put the Joker in jail…you know, before he broke out…repeatedly for the last ten years. But that's not the point. Maybe the Joker knows where Weiss is, like he's planning some sort of revenge."

"Deadman Wonderland wasn't enough for you?" asked Sun incredulously. "I'm sick of prisons and clowns give me the creeps. We should head to Inkopolis. That looks like a fun place and that DJ Octavio looks easy to beat."

"We're not going there for fun," Penny argued. "We're going because we need to find out more about Zeref's Cabal and how they're connected with Team RWBY disappearing."

"What do you think we should do, Sora?" asked Velvet.

"Uh…," said Sora dimly, truthfully having not paid any attention to the conversation. "…get more corndogs?"

Penny, Sun, and Velvet slapped their foreheads in unison.

"I swear, Sora, it's like you don't have a worry in the world," said Sun, shaking his head.

The spiky-haired islander shrugged nonchalantly and his team went back to plotting their course. Sora leaned against the window and looked out into space, allowing his thoughts to wonder. The truth was, Sora had a lot of worries. He was worried about the fate of his home and family. He was worried that Zeref might come after them. He was worried where Riku had wondered off since they last met. He was worried about Kairi, who he had not seen or heard from in so long. And, mostly oddly enough, he was worried about Ruby Rose. The way Penny and the others spoke of her, you would think that she was a saint. But Sora had seen a different side of Crescent Rose's creator. A side that was willing to do anything to get what she wanted, no matter who she hurt. If Penny and the others knew what Sora did, he wasn't sure how they would react.

Sora shook his pointy head of those miserable thoughts and decided to stare out the window again hoping something would distract him. The scythe wielder made a noise of surprise when he looked out the window and realize that the starry backdrop of space had vanished, replaced by a wall of thick white haze – like fog. Sora looked out on the opposite side of the ship and noticed the fog blocking the view from the outside; the same thing when he looked up.

"Hey, guys, are you seeing this – "

Sora cut himself off and jumped out of his seat, nearly hitting his head on the cockpit's domed window. Penny, Sun, and Velvet weren't in their seat anymore, but the holographic screen was still present, except displaying a wall of noisy static instead of an interstellar map. Sora was used to strange things happen in this adventure, but how could three adults just suddenly disappear without him noticing; surely he would have seen someone being thrown out of a moving spaceship….

But that's when he realized it – the ship wasn't moving.

Sora pressed his face against the window and looked down. Peering through the thick fog, Sora realized that the Gummi Ship had somehow parked in the middle of a gray and slightly cracked road. He pushed the cockpit dome up, carefully stepped outside the ship, and touched down of the street quietly; his soft footsteps somehow echoed eerily in the dense haze. The scythe wielder looked around nervously. There was a long, straight path ahead of him while the road backward seemed to suddenly stop behind the Gummi Ship. Sora had the suspicion that if he tried to walk in that direction, he would fall off the edge of…whatever world he was in. Since he didn't know how to fly the Gummi Ship (and oversight on Penny's part when he thought about it), Sora patted Lyrical Carnation for assurance and started walking forward.

His footsteps echoed very loudly in the dense fog despite himself being soft-footed. The road ahead of him noticeably became clearer the further Sora walked into the haze while the path behind him was consumed completely by the mist; he couldn't see the Gummi Ship anymore. Ten steps…twenty steps…thirty steps…Sora lost track of how long he had been walking or how far; all he could see was endless fog. Just when he started to feel hopeless, the fog in front of him slowly dissipated; not entirely, but just enough for him to see the structures that were suddenly forming s if appearing from nothing.

He seemed to be standing at the entrance of a small rural town with tall brownstone buildings on either side of the streets with small shops and businesses not unlike those in Traverse Town. To his immediate left was post office next to Andy's Books and across from Alchemilla Hospital and the Green Pharmacy. The road stretched out further ahead. There was the Sun Café just across from the taco shack (not the best combination in Sora's opinion), the dilapidated apartment complex at the end of the road, and the theater next to it announcing that they would be doing a production of "The Tempest". It was very similar to Traverse Town in many ways, but there was one huge difference between them:

"There're no people here," said Sora softly, looking up and down the empty street. "And just when I thought it couldn't get any creepier…. Okay, let's see where this leads."

Sora started his trek down the street, missing the large sign on the side of the road with its many bronze letters tilted and its murky green paint peeling, spelling out: " **Welcome to Silent Hill** ".

* * *

 **SILENT HILL**

* * *

The atmosphere was very unnerving around the old town. A street sign on the corner next to the post office told him he was walking down Koontz, though that did little to tell him where he was or how he came to be in this foggy community. The windows on the buildings were unusually clean, meaning Sora could see through them even at a distance, but the shops were unsurprisingly devoid of life. There were a couple cars left on the side of the road in pristine condition, but Sora doubted they would be of any help to him (especially considering he didn't know the first thing about driving). He looked to his right at the Alchemilla Hospital and felt a shiver run down his spine. He wasn't afraid of them, per se, but there was something about the place that made him feel uncomfortable.

He was just passing by the front gates of the hospital when he heard something…something that wasn't there a minute ago. It was faint, and Sora had to strain his ears to catch it, but he could definitely hear it: someone was crying.

Sora backpedaled to the hospital gates and peered inside without daring to cross over the threshold unless he needed to. He saw a faint outline of a pair of shadows – one of them was very small and shaking while the other one was lower, hunched down of the pavement. Sora leaned forward and tried to focus harder on the shadows until the fog slowly started to fade around the shadows and presented him with a clear view. There was a little girl in a scarlet hoodie and black skirt sitting on the bench in front of the hospital entrance, knuckles pressed against her shrouded face as her sobs mixed in with short hiccups. A large dog was sitting on the ground in front of the little girl, wagging its tail slowly back and forth while staring at the child intently.

This seemed wildly out of place. Why was the whole town seemingly abandoned while there was a little girl and her dog sitting alone in the fog? It seemed too much like a trap. But on the off chance that it wasn't a trap, Sora would never forgive himself if he left a child alone in the middle of nowhere…. Sora looked over his shoulders cautiously for any suspicious people before entered the hospital courtyard. The moment he stepped past the gates, the dogs ear's noticeably stood in attention and its tail stopped wagging; they must have thought Sora was dangerous. The spiky-haired boy approached them very slowly as not to frighten them both, holding his hand up peacefully. He was halfway across the courtyard and only a few feet away from the girl, who didn't seem to notice he was there.

"Hey…hey, little girl," said Sora calmly; the girl still cried. "Shh, shh, it's okay, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm a good person…although a bad person would probably say the same thing. Uh, forget I said that. Look, my name's Sora. Do you need any help? Do you want me to - ?"

Sora touched the little girl on the shoulder. The dog suddenly snapped its head toward with a vicious growl and leaped at Sora, pushing its paws against his shoulder and shoving him to the ground on his back. Sora's instincts drove him to reach around and flip Lyrical Carnation into scythe form before he hit the dirt, which was a good thing as the dog pinned him down and snapped its teeth at his face. Sora raised Lyrical Carnation in front and stopped the teeth by shoving the scythe's thin shaft into the animal's jaw. Their struggle was one-sided in Sora's favor since the dog's only advantage was the element of surprised, so the spiky-haired boy effortlessly pushed the dog off to the side – the dog whined for a second – and quickly scrambled to his feet.

Sora held his scythe protectively as the dog started to climb back on its paws. Sora didn't want to hurt the animal…but that was before he actually got a good look at it.

The dog – if it could even be called as such – was large and very muscular…and completely skinless. The feral beast was completely exposed on the inside; muscles, sinew, organs – everything was clearly visible. Blood was dripping like scarlet raindrops from every orifice. The Feral snarled menacingly with its exposed canines shivering its bleeding gums.

"What...what in the world are you…?" stammered Sora shockingly.

The Feral then suddenly lunged at Sora. The spiky-haired boy didn't think about what he would do next and simply reacted, twirling Lyrical Carnation as the energy blade carved a glowing path in their air. The laser scythe sliced through the Feral's neck like a hot knife cutting through warm butter and threw the beast's head in one direction while its body tumbled in another.

Sora took a deep breath as he flipped Lyrical Carnation into its stand-by mode and replaced it on the back of his belt. He started turning back to the little girl when he noticed that lying in the middle of the courtyard was the severed head and body of the Feral he just killed. It didn't fade away like other Grimm. The area's where Lyrical Carnation cut smelled like burning flesh that made Sora want to gag while bone and organ were hanging out the open wounds. Sora covered his mouth and nose with his hands and shut his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at it. He walked forward until he was certain he didn't have to look at the rotted dog corpse before lowering his hand and opening his eyes.

"That wasn't a Grimm," mumbled Sora, his hands shaking. "Grimm always disappear when you slay them. That monster didn't disappear. Was it…was it not a Grimm? Was that thing…alive?"

Before Sora could contemplate on the matter further, he was brought back to reality (?) when the little girl made a particularly loud hiccupping sound and continued to sob quietly. Sora's hand stopped shaking and he clenched his fist. He could think bad stuff right now. This little girl was probably scared enough for the both of them. Sora approached the girl and kneeled in front of her so that they were at eye level. The girl stopped crying but still sniffled as she raised her head. Sora couldn't see her face well enough because the hoodie obscured her face, but she looked to be very young – maybe six or seven at best. Sora stayed quiet for a while until she got out the last of her sniffles and finally calmed down.

"Hey, are you all right?" Sora asked in a kindly soft voice. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"…No," mumbled the little girl.

"Well, what's wrong then?" asked Sora.

"My mommy's gone," said the little girl as she suppressed another hiccup. "They said she's never coming back. Daddy doesn't play with me anymore. He sits in front of the TV all day even when it's not on and drinks something that smells really bad out of bottles. My big sister used to play with me but…" – she started to hiccup again and made a whiny noise – "a lot of bad things happened to my big sister. Someone hurt her really bad. She said she doesn't want to see me anymore. She probably hates me."

"No, no, I don't think that's true," Sora said soothingly. He took her hands and gently caressed the back with his thumbs. "You're sister's probably just…frustrated. She doesn't hate you."

"You think so?" asked the little girl, sniffling.

"If she really is your sister, she would never hate you," said Sora confidently. "Look, why don't you go see her so that you can ask her yourself? I'll go with you if you want. Is she somewhere in the hospital?"

"Her room at the end of the hall," said the little girl as they both looked at the hospital. "But I'm afraid to go in by myself. It's scary in there. What if a bad person hurts me? What if a bad person hurts my sister?"

"Well, I'll keep you safe from the bad people," said Sora assuring. He stands up and offers his hand to the little girl. "What do you say? Wanna go see your sister?"

The little girl stared at the hand, biting her lip with uncertainty, and looked up. Sora offered her a kind smile and that seemed to dispel the girls worries. The little girl took his hand and held on tightly as she bounced off the bench, walking with her new friend to the hospital doors.

"By the way, I never got your name," asked Sora, suddenly remembering why he approached her in the first place.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the little girl apologized. She pulled back her hoodie, displaying her darkish-red hair and shimmering silver eye. "I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."

Sora suddenly found himself frozen in place even as the little, silver-eyed girl escaped his hand, walked up to the hospital doors, grabbing the handle, and threw the door open. His mind was running a mile a minute…. This was Ruby Rose? But she saw Ruby Rose on Yamatai and she was a fully grown adult, not a little girl. Was he hallucinating again like he did with Kairi? No, that didn't make sense. Sora didn't know what Ruby looked like beyond a picture Penny gave her. How could he imagine Ruby as a little girl he'd never seen before? Did it have something to do with this strange Fog World? It made more sense than anything else considering the way he arrived in this strange world and that monster-dog thing that attacked him….

The spiky-haired boy was broken out of his stupor when he heard the door click and realized that Ruby had already gone ahead inside. Sora grabbed the door handles…and immediately pulled back his hand back with a sharp yelp. The handles were blistering hot; Sora's glove was smoking from the brief contact. This place just gets weirder, he thought. Sora swiftly grabbed the handle and pulled the door open in a split-second and dashed inside before the door snapped shut behind him

* * *

The first thing that registered to Sora was the temperature. While the Silent Hill streets had been mildly chilly, a blast of scalding-hot air hit Sora light a freight train when he stepped inside the hospital. It was like walking outside of an air conditioned room and stepping out into a dry, heat stained desert without any cover; the sudden shift in temperature made Sora feel lightheaded.

The next thing that came to Sora's mind was that the hospital…didn't look like a hospital at all. Sora had been expecting something like a white-tiled, white-walled reception area with a wooden desk and computers run by the staff and seat for waiting patients. What he had not been expecting were grated floors thickly covered in reddish-orange rust that creaked ominously under his feet, the oppressively-gray walls that were also coated in rust and littered with scratch marks, and the dozens of rusty-red pipes that weaved and out through the walls, clanging and gurgling gloomily. There were seats and a reception desk like Sora had predicted, but desk had been broken down the middle like had put their fist through the wood and the seats were covered in grime and red splattered that Sora did not think was tomato juice. The area was noticeably darker when he looked out the window and realized there was that everything beyond the glass was pitch darkness, even though it was hazily sunny outside just a moment ago. Nothing about this world was making sense.

Sora felt a squeeze on his hand and looked down. The little girl was holding on to his arm and made a small whimpering sound. Sora put on his best smile, kneeled down, and patted her back reassuringly. He couldn't be scared in front of her – someone needed to be strong for the both of them.

"Do you know where your sister is?" asked Sora.

"Her room is through there," said Ruby, pointing to the door at the back of the reception area. "She's at the end of the long hall. There's nobody else in here, but it's really scary. My big sister was brave enough to go by herself even though it's really big and scary when no one else is around. I wish I was as brave as her."

"Well, you know what I do when I'm scared?" said Sora sympathetically. The little girl looked up at him in curiosity. "I think about some of my happiest memories to make me feel safe, and I think about the people I love the most to remind me why I shouldn't be afraid. For me, that's spending everyday on the beach with my best friends, Riku and Kairi. Do you have any memories that make you happy?"

"…me and big sis are sitting with mommy in front of the fireplace during the cold days," mumbled Ruby softly. "Mommy gives us hot chocolate and cookie, and she hugs us in a warm blanket, and she sings to us until we fall asleep."

"That sounds like a good memory," said Sora, smiling. "You had a good mama."

"She was the best," mumbled Ruby. "I miss her."

"Well, there's nothing I can really do to bring your mama back," said Sora, frowning slightly. He quickly shook his head and put on his best face. "But you big sister's inside waiting for you, and I bet she really missed you. Once we find her, maybe you can share those happy memories. I bet that'll make her feel all better."

"Okay," said the Ruby, suddenly becoming very excited. "Let's go find big sis!"

It was hard to believe that this girl was the same one he saw on Yamatai as she practically skipped across the reception area, not even the least bit concerned that the grates ringing underneath her feet might start to give way and drop her into the abyss below. The spiky-haired warrior shook his head and smiled. She was so innocent…. There was no way the two Rubys were the same person, right?

Sora was a little more cautious as he stepped over the overturned chairs and splintered coffee tables. He nearly jumped out of his skin when a particularly large bug slipped through the holes in the grates and skittered into a dark corner ("Did that thing have a cultist tattoo?" asked Sora curiously). The whole time, Ruby was staring at him with her head tilted as if wondering why he was acting so strange. In a couple moments, Sora joined her by the door, grabbed the knob, turned it, and stepped forward…smacking face-first into the door.

Sora blinked comedically; Ruby stifled a snort behind her hands. The spiky-haired Huntsman turned the knob again and pushed with his shoulder, but the door remained unmoving. He started jiggling the knob harder and kept trying to shove his way through, but the entrance stayed sealed up tight. He tried kicking the door with the similar result before walking back to the hospital entrance…and sprinting back across with a flying jump kick; the room echoed with a loud _**clang**_ but the door remained as solid as ever. Sora growled in frustration and decided it was time to stop being mister nice guy. He whipped out Lyrical Carnation and slashed the door face repeatedly with the laser blade, but when he stopped to inspect his work, he found the door completely untouched. In one last act of desperation, Sora tried opening the door normally…still nothing.

"That is one quality door," said Sora, very impressed by door's resistance. "Sorry, Ruby, looks like we're gonna have to find another way around. Maybe we can look for a ventilation shaft for you to crawl through so that you can open the door on the other side…though there might be bad people over there. Maybe we can climb the stairs to the next floor up, run across to the other side of the hospital, and come down from the stairs on the other side…but the sign says it's a closed ward. Okay, I got it! I'll rip open the grates underneath us and I'll go underneath the door monkey bar style while you're hanging on to my back and – "

"I found the key!"

Sora spun around. Little Ruby was standing behind the reception desk, waving rusty bronze over her head with a tag that said: 'Closed Ward Key'.

"Or we can do that," said Sora, shrugging.

Ruby ran around the desk with the key in hand, passing it off to Sora who inserted it into the door and unlocked with a _**click**_. As if someone had thrown a switch, the air suddenly spiked to boiling temperatures; steam was hissing out of the pipework and Sora could feel the sweat dripping down his body like a waterfall. His breathing was becoming ragged as the air seemed too thin with the heat. It felt like he was being boiled alive. If he was suffering this much from the heat, Ruby must have felt much worse. But when he looked down to his side…he was surprised that Ruby didn't seem remotely affected. It was as if the heat wasn't touching her…. Now that Sora thought about it, he wondered why Ruby wasn't scared when they walked in the hospital. Any normal child would have freaked out the moment they saw the blood splatters and the dark ambiance.

Was it possible that this girl couldn't see what he saw?

"Are you okay?" asked Ruby in concern.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine," said Sora, putting on a brave face as he wiped his brow. "Just getting myself ready. Are you ready?"

"Uh-huh," said Ruby, nodding eagerly.

"All right, let's go," said Sora encouragingly while trying (and failing) to ignore the heat.

He ripped open the door, hitting the wall with a _**bang**_ , and immediately his senses were assaulted by a tsunami of rancorous screams and harrowing wails. Sora's hands immediately flew to his ears to block out the deafening screeches, but Ruby regarded him with a curious look. She really couldn't hear any of it. Was the reality that Sora was seeing that much different than the one she was looking at? Were they both standing together in the same place, but existing in two separate worlds? Given everything that Sora had seen so far in his adventures, he couldn't say that it was beyond the realm of possibility. So with that being the case, Sora gritted his teeth and pulled Ruby alongside him as they stepped into the hallway.

Despite being a closed ward, there really weren't any doors, only windows with a spider web of veins deep cracks in the glass allowing a fractured view into the rooms on the other side. The tortured screams grew stronger when they passed by the windows, making Sora cringe but Ruby just continued to look on ahead with a tiny little smile present on her barely visible mouth. Sora was almost glad she couldn't see any of this. The hall echoed restlessly with the howls of men and women crying out, pleading for the pain to end, and once or twice Sora thought he heard a baby crying before it was cut short by a slashing sound and the bubbling gurgle that followed it after.

As they were passing by the third window, Sora' curiosity got the better of him and he looked over his shoulder through the cracked glass on his right. Inside was a small operating room that was dimly lit by a single hanging lamp, obscuring most of the scenery in undefinable shadow. He could only make out the faint outline of the operating table in the room with a standing tray off to the side. There was someone on the table that seemed to be struggling to move his limbs; he was strapped to the table. Then another silhouette stepped into the light. Its limbs were twitching erratically, its head shaking from side to side, and there were several dozen objects sticking out of its back, but the shadows made it impossible to tell what they are. The new silhouette picked something up off the tray; it looked like a knife. The shadowed creature leaned over the operating table and –

"That's her room right there," said Ruby, pointing down to the end of the hall.

More than happy to be distracted from the gory scene, Sora followed the direction of Ruby's finger down the long, shadowed, and rust-painted hallway. A single wrought iron door was at the end of the hall that glowed with a yellowish-red tinge like it had been freshly pulled from an intense fire; Sora could feel the hot air becoming even thicker as they got closer. On the door was a glowing-red symbol that looked similar to a satanic cult emblem: a circle transcribed with various runes and symbols on the outer edged of the ring with three smaller circles on the inside. Three different emblems were placed inside the three circles: a yellow flaming heart, a black wispy flower, and a white snow flake. And in the direct middle of the whole thing was a burning-red rose.

Little Ruby ran on ahead and reached the door before Sora could call her back. She grabbed the long handle and pulled back with all the strength in her tiny body, but the iron door was too heavy for her to budge. Sora opened his mouth, ready to call back the little girl because he felt it was too dangerous for her to be away from him, when something slammed into the window on his left with a startling _**crack**_.

Sora jumped and stepped away, turning to the window with his hand reflexively reaching for Lyrical Carnation. A man – a naked man with sickly gray skin – was slamming himself against the glass, scratching the surface with his chipped and bleeding nails. The man's eyes…the sockets were his eyes should have been were dark and empty as trails of black liquid seeped out of the corners. His mouth was stretched farther than humanly possible, his wails becoming higher pitched as he thrashed against the glass.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE! PLEASE, GOD, SOMEBODY GET – !"

A long, rusty knife suddenly ripped through the man's throat. He sputtered incoherently as his mouth overflowed with black liquid and spilled all over his front before he dropped sideways out of view. As concerned and disgusted as Sora should have been, the spiky-haired boy found himself captivated at the creature that came into view behind the eyeless man.

The creature was human in shape and size, but its arms and legs were unhealthily thin and skin of its exposed ribcage was clinging to the bones as if it not eaten in centuries. It's only clothing consisted of a dirty-gray dress of rags wrapped around its waist splattered with red patches and the tattered piece of red cloth that concealed the monster's eyes (that was considering the monster even had eyes). Over the creature's shoulders, Sora could see dozens of shape objects of various shapes and sizes from a small steak knife, to a bloody butcher's knife, to a cracked katana all stabbing the monster's back with profuse amounts of dark liquid spilling from the wounds and sliding down its spine like black rivers.

The monster (which Sora would eventually name Tormentor in his journal) slouched closer to the window, turning its misshaped head curiously s its "O"-shaped mouth took it's a rattled breath. It stared blindly at Sora for several moments – the spiky-haired warrior did not move – and then, very suddenly, the Tormentor howled; it sounded like a cross between a smoker's hack and someone drowning. The Tormentor flailed its spindly limbs against the glass and made a pair of deep cracks in the pane. It threshed again and the cracks spread farther. When the Tormentor slammed the glass a third time and the cracks spread to the corners, Sora soon realized too late that the other windows were being shattered at the same time. And with a fourth and final strike, the windows shattered outward and sprinkled the corridor in glass shards.

Some of the tormentors crawled over the sills on their hands and knees like spindly spiders while others simply fell forward over the ledge, landing face first in the broken glass, and stood back up with black ooze dripping from their new wounds. Sora counted eight of them, all blindfolded and speared with a different mixture of pointed, rusty blade in their backs. The Tormentors reached behind their backs and ripped out at least one blade each; the closest to Sora was twitching its hand with a common pocket knife while the one in the farthest back was scrapping a large broadsword must too heavy for its thin arms to carry. Sora whipped out Lyrical Carnation and switched it to Gun Mode (it was a lot like carrying it in Scythe Mode only it summoned the bullets as red energy spheres at the head and exposed the hidden trigger).

"Ruby, you need to - hey, where'd she go?" asked Sora blinking.

He looked down the hall to the heated door, but the little girl was nowhere to be seen. She must have gone inside the room; she couldn't have run past without him noticing.

The Tormentor's howl brought Sora back to reality (again, still questionable). The monster wielding the pocket knife started toward the spiky-haired boy on its twitchy legs as the rest of the Tormentors followed close behind, some of them having to drag their weapons with them. Sora immediately shot the front runner in the chest. The energy bullet pierced through the Tormentor's thin chest like it was made of paper and came out on the other side, hitting the slouched Tormentor behind it in the face. The second monster collapsed forward with a sizzling hole between its blindfolded eyes, but the first one continued to pace forward, not even realizing that it had a smoking hole in the middle of its chest. The Tormentor stabbed at Sora with the pocket knife, but its movement's we so slow that he could easily sidestep it and leaned backwards when it took another swipe across. Sora quickly righted himself and put a bullet directly through the Tormentor's face; the back of its head exploded, splattering the hallway with black ooze.

A wail came from the side and Sora ducked underneath the swinging meat cleaver swiping at his neck, rolling backward on the glass covered floor. The spiky-haired Huntsman straightened himself into a kneeling stance and took aim on the third Tormentor that began to wave its clever threateningly when the monster was suddenly decapitated from behind. The suddenly betrayal from its own kin caught Sora off-guard as a tomahawk-wielding Tormentor rushed forward, howling hoarsely as it swiped its weapon overhead. Sora snapped out of his stupor and threw himself into the wall, narrowly avoid the attack. The Tormentor turned its gaping face at him and started to lift its tomahawk again, but Sora clicked Lyrical Carnation to Scythe Mode and sliced the monster in half with the laser blade that formed. Black liquid sprayed from the bisected legs like a sprinkler, splashing all over Sora; the spiky-haired boy clapped his hand over his mouth to stop himself from vomiting…again.

"Oh my…I never thought I'd say this," said Sora with a grimace," but I think I actually prefer fighting Grimm. At least they just vanish when they are slain."

The remaining four Tormentors started to advance on him, now drawing a second weapon from their bleeding spines now dripping in inky liquid. Sora adjusted his stance and prepared to rush them when he felt something wrap around his ankle; it felt cold and slimy that Sora felt a shiver run up his spine. He looked down and yelped. The Tormentor he had sliced in half was starting to climb up his legs; its cold, emaciated fingers digging into his suits and heaving with a heavy, rattling breath. Sora jumped back in fright, dragging the Tormentor with him, and immediately sliced the gaunt monster at the elbows. The Tormentor's body dropped to the floor, but the hands were still clinging to him; Sora pried them off and threw them away.

Sora took several deep breaths and started to walk backwards as he looked over the Tormentor horde. Though there were only four of them still intact, the other four that Sora had worked hard to slay were starting to move again. The first Tormentor that he shot between the eyes lurched back to its feet with the hole still smoking through the blindfold, the second Tormentor that had it head blown off was standing without its skull present, the third Tormentor picked up its decapitated head with one hand and carried the butcher's knife in the other, and the fourth Tormentor that had been bisected and amputated was crawling along the floor. Sora came to the unfortunate realization: they couldn't be killed

Together, the Tormentors slouched closer to Sora with their weapons flailing and their voices wailing. The spiky-haired boy edged further and further back down the hall, swinging Lyrical Carnation back and forth with the energy blade hummed in the air. He soon felt a white-hot flash of pain flare up in his back, umped away from the spot, and turned around. He was standing in front of the heated door; the one that Ruby said her sister would be in. Just being near the door told him that it was the epicenter of the hospitals hellish heatwave and that walking inside would most likely lead to a molten death trap. But as he looked between the heated door and the horde of Tormentors rushing his way, the choice was relatively clear:

"How do I keep getting myself into these messes?" Sora grumbled.

He stowed away Lyrical Carnation and grasped the wrought iron door with both hands. Sora could see the intense heat passing over his gloves and scorching his palms raw-red underneath and smoke hissed in his ear like a hungry snake underneath the moans of the Tormentors behind him. Sora gritted his teeth and tried to push the pain away from his mind as he pulled back with his whole weight. It took a couple more tugs before the wrought iron door finally budget out of the threshold, opening a small sliver of the doorway. The Tormentors stiffened briefly…and then they wailed louder as they twitched anxiously closer and closer, grasping at the air for Sora, quite possibly trying to stop him from opening the door. Sora put them in the back of his mind as well.

Another tug and the wrought iron door screeched against the grated floor; the Tormentors wailed in a higher pitched. He tugged at the door a third time and the white-hot doorway was opened halfway; the Tormentors were only a foot away, slicing their sharp weapons at everything in their path, including each other. One final pull and the door finally flew open completely. The Tormentors finally grasped Sora by the shoulders and started to pull him back when a flash of white light burst through the doorway –

* * *

Sora saw nothing. Sora knew nothing. The whole world was white and his ears were clogged by a high-pitched whistle…. And then he heard a very, very small voice.

"It's true! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"You sure you didn't just hear it this time?"

"What difference does it make? There's a huge monster in there, I tell you!"

Those voices…they belong to him…to him and Riku…but they were so much small, so much softer….

The white light cleared from his vision and Sora could see him home – he could see the Destiny Island upon which he played for years as a child, the home which should have been taken by the Grimm. But Sora didn't feel like he was truly there, but rather a formless specter looking out into the world from behind a glass. And then he saw himself, or at least who he used to be.

Sora and Riku walked along the pathway around the large tree headed towards the opening of the secret place (which, in retrospect, wasn't really that secret). Both of them were very young; Sora remembered them being around four and five years old respectively. Even back then, Sora admitted that he looked a little lost in the cloud while Riku always had that serious look on his eyes, like he was trying too hard to be older than he actually is. Sora laughed, but his voice was mute.

"All right, suppose there really is a monster," said Riku, though his tone gave away that he didn't really believe it. "Think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?"

"No problem! Let's do it!" said Sora, pumping his fist. Riku rolled his eyes and smirked when Sora wasn't looking. "Listen! There! Can you hear it growling?"

"Shh, quiet," Riku insisted. "We've gotta be careful."

There was a noise coming through the opening of the cave. To the older Sora, it sounded like the flow of wind funneling through the gap in the entrance, but to the children, it sounded like a monster growling. If he knew where his head was, Sora would be shaking it. If those two had heard a real monster growl, they wouldn't have made such an obvious mistake.

Riku, ever the brave one, crawled in through the hole while little Sora followed behind. They walked along the short tunnel and entered the standing area of the cavern. Riku followed the noise they heard outside the secret place and looked up in the gap in the ceiling opening up into the sky above. A gust of wind blew by at that exact moment and simulated the "monster's" howl perfectly.

"See that?" said Riku pointedly. "It was just the wind making that noise."

"Aw, man! I wish it was a monster!" little Sora whined. Older Sora, again, would have shaken his head. "Hold on! What's that over there?"

The little Sora pointed to the opposite side of the cavern to the blank wooden panel wedged into between the distorted rock walls, looking largely out of place. Looking back, Sora remembered seeing that wooden panel for ten years and never once figuring out how to get through it. The first and only time it ever opened was during the Grimm invasion and just before Kairi slipped through his arms like a ghost. Even to this day, Sora still didn't know what was on the other side.

"A window, or maybe a door?" said Riku curiously, inspecting the wooden frame. "Ugh, it won't open."

"Geez, is this really all that's in here?" little Sora complained.

"What do you expect in a boring place like this?" said Riku. "…Hey, Sora."

"Hm?" little Sora hummed, turning to Riku.

"When we grow up, let's get off this island," said Riku strongly. "We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!"

Sora had forgotten how much Riku wanted so desperately to leave the island, even back then. Sora wouldn't deny that the repetitiveness of the small islands was boring, but the lengths that Riku would go to just to leave his home…. The memory of that night was still etched in Sora's mind, how Riku so easily accepted the darkness just for a chance to escape. If little Riku knew what he would do in the future, would he still make the same choice, Sora wondered.

"Sure," little or accepted as they started to walk out of the cave. "But isn't there anything fun to do now?"

"Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house?" said Riku suddenly. "Did you hear…?"

And then the world turned white once more.

* * *

Sora blinked again – the Destiny Islands had vanished, the memory already slipping into the back of his mind. He groaned and rubbed his throbbing temple. Why did he remember that all of a sudden? It wasn't an important memory or represented anything significant in his life. If he was being honest with himself, Sora had completely forgotten that day up until now. So why now?

Sora pushed the thought from his mind when he became aware of his new surroundings. Sora was certain he was still in Alchemilla Hospital, but he somehow ended up in a wide, cylindrical room with walls made of patchwork sheet metal that stretched over a mile into the air; plumes of black smoke spilling through the opening at the top like a smokestack. And when he looked down, Sora realized that he was standing on the edge of a massive grated platform being suspended by rusty chains over a pool of bubbling magma. One of the bubbles popped underneath Sora and splatted the molten liquid against the grate; Sora pulled his foot back in time before the magma hit him. Even with him somehow being transported into what could only be described as a smelting chamber with no visible exit, somehow the strangest thing of all was the wooden bed in the middle of it all. The bed looked like something that would belong in a household, perhaps somewhere out in the country, but it somehow ended up in the middle of this literal hell…along with the person sitting in it.

Sora tell the person was a woman just by looking at her, but her face was hidden by the wild mane of golden-blonde hair that almost _glowed_ in the light of the magma, as if it were set aflame. Her legs were covered by the bedspread, but her left arm was visible enough to tell that it was unhealthily thin…and that it was her only arm. Sora had to crane his head, but he could clearly see that the woman's right arm was severed just above the elbow; heaping amounts of scarlet blood was spilling from the open wound onto the stained-white bedsheets and dripping into the magma below. The woman did not seem to mind that she was bleeding openly, but rather sat hunched over herself and purposely allowed the blood to spill on herself, as if she wanted to see herself suffer.

"Uh…excuse me," said Sora hesitantly, cautiously walking closer to the woman. "Are you okay? Do you need a doctor or…you know, maybe a doctor might not be the best word for those things back there."

"What do you want?" asked the woman harshly, never looking at him. Her voice was filled with anger and frustration, but Sora could tell she was holding back. "Come to laugh at me? Or pity me?"

"Neither," said Sora. "Are you…Ruby's sister?"

"So what if I am," said the woman harshly. "Not like anyone cares who I am. She certainly didn't care about me when she left."

"That's not true," said Sora. "Ruby's been looking for you. She wanted to see you again."

"Oh yeah," said the woman challengingly. "Then where is she now?"

"I…don't know," said Sora with uncertainty. "Maybe she got lost?"

"Typical," the woman scoffed. "I knew she'd just leave me again…. People always make promises, saying they would never leave you, and then they leave out to dry. My mother left me when I was just a baby because she couldn't be a parent, my partner abandoned when things got too tough, and even my own sister ditched me because she so self-important. She actually believes she can change the world, that she's some kind of hero like in those fairy tales. That's stupid. There are no heroes. There are no happy endings. I'm living proof of that."

"Look, I don't know what happened to make you this way," said Sora strongly, leering at the wounded woman. "But just because you gave up, doesn't mean that everyone else did. Did you ever think that maybe all those people didn't leave because they wanted to? That maybe they were just trying to protect you? I'm not going to pretend I know what happened with your mom and partner, but I can tell that your sister loves you and she'd never abandon you like that."

"Don't go making excuses for people you don't even know," hissed the woman. "Instead of meddling in our affairs, why not think about yours. What about the people you left behind, huh? What happened to your friends, huh? Where are they?"

"…I don't know where they are," said Sora honestly. "I don't even know what happened to them or if they're even still alive. But that's not because I don't care. I've been traveling to a bunch of different worlds trying to look for my friends, and other people's friends. There are a lot of people that I want to help: Riku, Kairi, Team RWBY, Team CFVY, Vivio, and anyone else that needs my help. You can give up on the people in your life, but don't you ever accuse me of abandoning my friends."

"That's a nice speech," said the woman in a low voice. "But it's only that. People always make up excuses to make themselves feel better."

"It's not an excuse," said Sora firmly. "I care about my friends and I will spend my whole life looking for them if I have to.

"You're lying," growled the woman.

"I'm not!" Sora insisted.

"You left everyone behind!" snarled the woman

"I didn't!" shouted Sora.

"You betrayed them!" the woman roared furiously.

"I would die before that happens," shouted Sora.

"THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD!" howled the woman.

Without warning, the magma beneath the woman's bed exploded upwards into a geyser of molten fire, sprinkling the platform in shower of lava. Sora hopped back to the left, skipped forward, leaped backward, rolled to the right, and slashed Lyrical Carnation to cut away the spray. When the molten fountain finally died and splashed back into the pool below, Sora tightened his grip around Lyrical Carnation and positioned himself into an ideal fighter's stance. He's seen these overly dramatic transitions to know that he was about to fight.

The middle of the grated platform had been melted away by the magma, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the rusted metal through which a serpentine-like beast slithered in from the lava pool and hissed dangerously at Sora. The monster's scales were a dirty-gold color that had lost their luster, many were chipped and several spots were missing, exposing fleshy skin that was thickly covered in sickening-yellow pustules that throbbed in a disgusting fashion. The beast had two jaws – one on top of the other; the highest set of teeth hissed out pungent black smoke while the lower mouth spit out flickers of sparks. The background of the dragon's eyes were pitch-black while the pupils with crimson red. But fortunately – depending on how you define fighting a dragon monster in a lava chamber – the beast's right arm was still missing like the woman's, spilling copious amounts of blood that spilled all over the grated floor, hissing when coming into contact with the metal.

"Ugh…why does everything have to be so nasty in this place?" moaned Sora with a disgusted grimace.

The Fire Dragon raised its one claw over its head and slammed it down on top of Sora, rattling the platform and making the rusty chains creek ominously. Sora naturally rolled out of the way and started running the circle around the monster when he stood up. Sora switched out Lyrical Carnations magazine (Fire Dust didn't seem like the smart choice in this situation) for rounds of Ice Dust; Orbs of white energy _popped_ into existence, floating around the laser scythe. Imitating Nanoha's form, Sora swiped the air and pointed two fingers to the Fire Dragon, silently commanding the entire cluster to fly at the beast. The Fire Dragon howled as the Ice Dust orbs exploded against its left side, spreading thick layers of bone-chilling ice across its rotten, scaled body. The great beast slowly turned towards Sora with both mouths snarling; the ice quickly melted of its scales due to the impossible hot temperatures.

The Fire Dragon's hand was still resting on the platform when it slammed down, turned it sideways, and started sweeping in a full circle around the platform. Sora didn't try to run (mostly because there was no place to run) and instead flipped over the monster's hand while he reloaded Lyrical Carnation's cartridge in midair. The Ice Dust orbs just formed when the Fire Dragon's hand suddenly whipped back and slapped Sora out of the air. He was freefalling over the edge of the platform into the magma pool. With a thrill of panic, Sora thrusted his scythe down and jammed the rod into one of the holes on the grate. Lyrical Carnation did bend under Sora's weight, dangling him just inches above the molten pool, but it did not break. The scythe's sturdy body bended back into shape, pulling Sora back safely on the platform; Sora left out a sigh of relief.

Turning back to the Fire Dragon, the monster's upper jaw creaked open like rusty hinges and breathed a cloud of black smoke over the scythe wielder. Sora choked on the noxious plume; it smelled like tire grease and tasted like ash. The upper mouth closed and the lower mouth opened in turned, breathing a small shower of sparks into the black cloud. It was like a chemical reaction – the sparks came in contact with the black smoke and the cloud suddenly erupted into a miniaturized explosion of roaring flames. Sora was thrown from the cloud by the updraft, slamming and sliding across the rim of the platform with only a bare minimum of scratches on his person; his aura took the brunt of the damage. But even though he wasn't hurt directly, it still took some effort for him to pull himself up to a kneeling position.

The Fire Dragon breathed a heavy cloud of noxious smoke over Sora again, suffocating him in the haze. He knew that any moment now, the Fire Dragon would open its second jaw and breathe the sparks to denote the gas again…. Only he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

He was mostly groping around the inside of his jacket without really knowing where it was, but Sora snatched the object and replaced Lyrical Carnation's current magazine. The white energy orbs flicked for a moment then altered their color to match the Air Dust that Sora had just inserted. Sora reached out, crushed one of the green orbs in his hand, and the energy sphere exploded into a sudden gust of wind. The wind pushed the black cloud toward the Fire Dragon as the beast released its sparks…. Sora threw his arms over his head as the air exploded in the Fire Dragon's face; Sora heard a lot of uncomfortable noises that sounded like wet flesh slapping metal. Sora was uncertain how his stomach was going to survive this world.

Sora waited for the moment to pass as the boiling chamber became pungent with the smell of burning flesh. He looked to his left at the platform, spying huge chunks of bloody-red meat littered all over the grated floor; some of the pieces were still smoking and smoke of the smaller chunks were slipping through the holes with sickeningly wet noises. Flecks of blood were glowing hot-yellow on the grates, hissing intensely until they burned through the rusted metal and into the lava pool below. If the floor looked this bad, Sora just knew he was gonna regret turning around…and regret it he did.

The Fire Dragon was hunched over the platform, using its one good arm to support itself as blood poured from its face like waterfalls. The monster's face was so misshaped that it was hardly recognizable from before: scales completely blasted away, exposing the throbbing flesh underneath, huge chunks of its body blow off randomly. Its lower jaw was hanging loosely on one side while the upper mouth had been blasted off completely; its left eye remained intact while its right eye dangled from its eye socket. The monster made a bunch of weak and incoherent noises, probably trying to roar some growl, but it didn't have a mouth to speak with anymore. Sora shuddered at the entirety of the scene.

"Ugh…and I thought you were ugly before," said Sora with a tone of disgust.

The Fire Dragon made a noise and slowly raised its only hand…then flopped on the platform in front of Sora. The scythe wielder remained stationary for a few moments, half expecting to dragon beast to be playing possum and would shoot up at any moment. He took a few cautionary steps forward and poked the Fire Dragon's face with the butt of Lyrical Carnation. It was unresponsive.

"Well, that was…unusually easy," said Sora uncertainly. He crouched down in front of the Fire Dragon's face, staring into the beast's dead, unblinking eye. "That fight went way too easy compared to all the others. Either I'm getting better…or you weren't fighting _me_ …. I wasn't the one you were fighting with…was I?"

Sora honestly didn't expect an answer from the Fire Dragon's corpse, but as he stared into its cold, lifeless eyes, a sudden flash of light filled his vision and the world disappeared once more….

* * *

 _ **I didn't leave you, I never abandoned you.**_

 _ **I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I just couldn't stay and do nothing**_

 _ **Even if we're apart, I would never leave you behind.**_

 _ **No matter how long the journey may be…I'll always come back to you.**_

* * *

..ra…

S..a…

"Sora!"

Sora's eyes snapped open and he shot up with a sudden gasp of breath, as if he had not breathed in so long. He took many smaller gasps and held his hand to his beating ribcage. He took a bit of time to calm down…then he looked around.

He wasn't in the strange smelting chamber anymore, but had somehow found himself lying flat outside the Alchemilla Hospital yard. The cool streets of Silent Hill were still thick with mist, but they seemed to have noticeably thinned since Sora entered the hospital. The Feral corpse stilled littered the stone walkway, though now it was slowly being picked apart by a colony of over a million ants. Sora didn't remember when he blacked out, or how he got outside, or why little Ruby Rose was suddenly sitting beside him, tilting her head in childish wonderment.

"Oh good, you're awake," said Ruby, breathing a sigh of relief. "I thought you were gonna sleep forever."

"What happened?" said Sora groggily. "I don't remember how I got here….Where were you, anyway? Did you find your sister?"

"Yep," said Ruby happily with a little _pop_ at the 'p'. "She's still a little hurt, but she's feeling much better now. She said she needed to rest and 'get her stuff together', but she'll be back to her normal self in no time."

"Well, that's good to here," said Sora. With a groan, he pushed off the ground back onto his feet, dusting himself off. "Since that problem's fixed, I gotta figure out a way out of this town…. This place is way too creepy, plus I have to find out what happened to my friends."

"Ooh, I know!" said Ruby excitedly, raising her hand as if she were in a classroom. "Why don't we go see my friend? She super smart and knows lots of stuff I don't know. She likes to read books a lot, especially ones about ninjas in love. She might know how to find your friends."

"Well…I've got nothing else planned," said Sora, scratching his head with uncertainty. "All right, take me to your friend."

"Awesome!" Ruby cheered, putting her small hand in Sora's bigger one. "You're gonna love her! She's super cool and super pretty, and she's the best at playing hide and seek! And she has the cutest ears!"

Sora smiled warmly as the little girl babbled on and on about her friend was the most awesome person in the world as they walked out the gates of Alchemilla Hospital, which closed behind them without either one noticing. Sora was almost tempted to tell her that Riku was the most awesome person in the world just to rile her up…. And then Sora's mind started to wonder…. Riku…where was he now?"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the small town hanged the infamous sign displaying " **Welcome to Silent Hill** " in faded color and crooked metal. Someone stepped out of the thick fog and approached the sign, staring at it with interest before looking around

"Okay, I'm here," said Riku. "Now what?"

* * *

 **This world was actually the one I was most looking forward to using. Silent Hill has always been my favorite horror series in video games because it uses a combination of classic horror mixed with psychological elements. I always thought it was so awesome how every monster in the game was a representation of some dark, hidden feeling inside about that person weather it is formed out of fear, guilt, of a sense of insecurity. I kept that theme in mind when I created these original monsters. If anyone can figure out what the monsters represent, they will definitely earn a reward.**

 **As I explained in the annotation at the beginning of the chapter, I had to use this world early because there was a tie in the votes and I couldn't very well ask people to change them when I could use an alternative world. This world was meant to be used in place of Monstro and will probably have the most important storyline in the overall plot of the story, so pay close attention and you might see some hints toward the new future of the series.**

 **Anyway, until next time, please read and review.**


	25. Welcome to Silent Hill, Part 2

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Welcome to Silent Hill, Part 2**

Sora really wished he started wearing a watch so that he could figure out how long he had been on this world. The thick and (possibly) supernatural fog that choked the small town of Silent Hill was too dense to see the sky or even to the end of the block. It could have been minutes, hours, or even days since he arrived at the town boarder (and the fact that he couldn't figure out how he ended up here in the first place didn't help his nerves). Every clock he checked on the street and through store windows were all stopped at 5:00 and when Sora went to check the Scroll, all he would get was a wall of static. Sora could either conclude that he was trapped in limbo where all time stopped or he was dead and this was purgatory. Somehow, the latter seemed depressingly more realistic.

"Hurry up already!" Ruby yelled impatiently, waving at him from down the street.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" said Sora walking up to her. "You know, you're not really girly for someone who wears a dress."

"It's not a dress, it's combat skirt!" shouted Ruby, pounding her tiny fists harmlessly at Sora's chest. "You take that back, you meanie!"

Sora couldn't resist laughing at little Ruby, who pouted and marched down the street in a huff before Sora decided to chase after her.

Ruby Rose was another oddity about Silent Hill. The version that Sora had met in the past was older, taller, and excelled at scheming from the shadows (which Sora made no effort to share with the rest of his team as they believed Ruby could do no wrong in their eyes). But the version of Ruby that was stomping down the road in front of him, pouting childishly and glaring at him over her shoulder with her cheeks puffed out, acted like a completely different person….She acted like the Ruby Rose that everyone talked of fondly – the version that was kind, honest, and fought for what's right, but also careless, invasive, and rushed ahead without thinking things through. A part of Sora was optimistic in believing that _**this**_ Ruby Rose was the real thing and that the hooded woman back on Yamatai was an imposter. But another, more pessimistic side of Sora told him it was impossible given the age difference and that she was just another hallucination created by this weird town.

Sora and Ruby turned right at the end of the street and onto Arcadia Road past the Arturd Theater and the apartment complex. It looked like they were reaching the very edge of the town as the left side was almost completely empty with long stretches of impossibly dense fog serving as the backdrop. They walked past the entrance of a dirt road that led to a dilapidated church in the distance, which stood next to a massive graveyard that took up nearly three times as much land than seemed possible. Sora peered through the perimeter fencing as they walked along and was taken aback by the sheer number of tombstones that cluttered the sloping landscape. There must have been literally close to a thousand markers, most of them either blank or written in an illegible language. They were so cluttered together that each stone was nearly on top of one another, leaving absolutely no room bury bodies or every walk through the cemetery freely – not that Sora would want to.

"That's a whole lot of graves," said Sora anxiously. " _Waaay_ too many graves. This town doesn't look like it could home more than a couple hundred people, so why are there so many."

"You know, I asked some people the same thing once," said Ruby. Both of them stopped for a moment and stared into the graveyard. "Yeah, I think their names were Travis, Henry, James, Alex, and Murphy – they all came to this town at one time or another before they all left. When I asked them why there were so many graves inside, they said something about this town drawing people with guilty consciences and never letting most of them go. I don't really get it, but I guess they did a lot of bad things that meant they couldn't leave unless they were forgiven. I never had the chance to ask them why before they all left town."

"Does that mean they were forgiven for what they did?" asked Sora curiously.

"I don't know," said Ruby, shrugging her shoulders. "I know Henry left with his daughter, Travis left in his truck, Alex went with Elle, and Murphy was released from prison. Never did find out what happened to James, though…. Well, that's enough of that! C'mon, we're almost there!" she added excitedly, decidedly skipping back along the street.

Sora took one last look at the graveyard before he chased after her.

Ruby's explanation gave him a lot to think about. Silent Hill drew people with guilty consciences and didn't let them go unless they were forgiven….But Sora didn't have anything to feel guilty about. Well, sure there was that one time in first grade when he stole Kairi's cookie and blamed it on Riku (he kicked Sora's butt on the beach later that day), and there was the time he accidentally got bubblegum in Tidus' hair and he had to cut if off (he looked better anyway), and there was the time he cheated off of Wakka's math test (Wakka, it turns out, was bad at math, so they both failed). But was that really enough to make Silent Hill spirit him away? No…that couldn't have been it.

Was it because Sora survived the destruction of Destiny Islands while others didn't? Sora felt bad for everyone that vanished into the darkness, but it wasn't his fault for living – it was simply pure chance. He couldn't blame himself for something that happened completely by complete accident. Was it because he didn't know where Riku and Kairi were? No, he didn't blame himself for them. Riku chose to be on his own and he knew that Kairi would get mad if Sora blamed himself, so he chose not to. Was it because he hadn't found Team RWBY yet? He didn't even know any of the girls on a personal level, and if he were being honest with himself, he was under no obligation to help find them. But Sun, Penny, and Velvet were his friends, so that was reason enough.

Sora didn't have anything to feel guilty about that would cause Silent Hill to drag him in….So why was he here?

"We're here!" Ruby shouted suddenly in a cheerful tone.

Sora stopped next to Ruby, looking up at the entrance and suddenly wondering whether or not it'd be better to run back to the cemetery. The spiky-haired boy could only barely make out the two story building shrouded in the thick Silent Hill fog and it reinforced doors covered in deep, gouging scratches as if someone were trying to break in instead of breaking out. The security gates to the path building had been left open, though there was a lot of rust on the metal bars and it looked like a few of them had been broken off. But perhaps what put Sora off the most was the rusted metal letters welded to the top of the stone archway that spelled out the name of the building:

"Cedar Grove Sanatorium," Sora read aloud, looking down at Ruby. "Isn't a sanatorium the place where they keep people with serious, long-term diseases and lock up people who are mentally unstable? What exactly did you say your friend was doing here again?"

"Hmm…I dunno," said Ruby, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "She just said that she deserved to be in here and that everyone would be safer if she were away, especially my big sister. I've been trying to visit her a lot, but she's always reading along in the dark corner of her room, sometimes I see he arguing with herself, and she's never leaves no matter what. I try bringing her snacks whenever I can, but she always throws them away and she always says" – she made her voice lower and more monotone – "'I don't deserve your kindness. I deserve to rot here, alone in the dark where I belong'. And sometimes…I see cuts on her arms I don't remember seeing last time….I'm scared she might be hurting herself, Sora."

"Yeah, she sounds like she's in a real bad place," said Sora, biting his lip as he stared at the sanatorium building. "I want to help your friend, Ruby, but I'm worried there might be something dangerous in there. We barely made it out of that hospital with all those monsters."

"What monsters?" asked Ruby curiously.

"Ah, that's right, you can't see them," Sora mumbled to himself. "Well, after what happened in the hospital, I'm not exactly eager do go running around a mental facility. Maybe there's someone we could talk to – "

The scythe wielder subconsciously trailed off his sentence, seeming to forget what he was going to say, and was compelled to remain silent beyond his wishes. Ruby's tiny mouth opened to say something, but no words could leave her lips just like him. In that moment of silence, the two of them could hear it: a soft wailing resounding from the thick fog, slowly creeping on them stronger and louder for every moment that passed. Listening to it closely, Sora familiarized the noise with the air raid sirens that would scream from the town hall, warning people of hurricanes and signal them to evacuate to safe zones. Sora remembered hearing the siren sounding from the island the night Destiny Islands were taken by the Grimm.

Sora felt Ruby tugging at the corner of his jacket and looked down at the Silver-eyed girl, who then pointed off to the side down the road they came from. Sora turned around, took a quick step back, and pulled little Ruby closer to himself. A curtain of darkness was gliding through the street, devouring everything from the fog to the buildings in an impenetrable shroud of shadows. Sora didn't know if this was just a naturally occurring event in Silent Hill, but it knew that moving walls of darkness were never a good thing. Sora quickly spun around on his heel, wrapped Ruby's hand inside his own, and finally found his voice:

"RUN!"

Ruby didn't look like she needed any explanation; she quickly fell in step with Sora as the pair of them pushed through the sanatorium gates, which slammed shut behind them without either noticing. Their feet pounded the pavement with extra spurts of energy as the black curtain swallowed the gates behind them. Sora's hands automatically reached for the knob before they even reached it and threw the door open, slamming the reinforced entrance against the wall as they rushed inside. Sora shoved Ruby ahead of himself, doubled back, and reached around for the door handle. At the very last second, Sora slammed the door shut and turned the lock just as the darkness fell over the sanatorium.

And then everything vanished into shadow.

* * *

Darkness….Every which way he looked, Sora could only see an impenetrable field of absolute darkness. There was something unnatural about this darkness – even the nights of the new moon on Destiny Islands when the skies were pitch black were never this…dark, for lack of a better word.

Sora felt something touch his hands that nearly made hi jump when he realized it was only Ruby. He couldn't see he face, but he could she was scared just by the tremble in her voice.

"It's so dark," said Ruby in a time voice. "I can't see anything. Monsters come out at night, right? Are the monsters going to get us?"

"The monsters aren't gonna get us, Ruby," said Sora reassuringly. "We just need to find a light. Maybe there's a switch on the wall or – oh wait, I got something."

There was some fumbling in the dark, the sound of moving cloth, a sharp hiss when Sora knocked himself against the knee, until energized blade of Lyrical Carnation flashed to life, casting a bright red glow over them.

"There, that's better," said Sora, looking reassuringly down at Ruby. "Well, since we're here, we might as well look around."

The spiky-haired scythe wielder led Ruby by the hand further into the sanitarium lobby, holding Lyrical Carnation high over their heads. The glow the laser scythe cast was weak and it didn't reach very far, but at least they could see where they were going rather than walking blindly into the darkness. As opposed to the hellish dimension at the Alchemilla Hospital, the sanatorium seemed relatively normal. Flagstone floors instead of rusty grates, the temperature wasn't too hot or cool, and the furniture and front desk was bloodstain free. The walls, however, were murky and covered in grime, but that seemed more from a lack of cleaning than supernatural forces.

One thing that did stand out was the number of books lying around. Every type of reading material from thick novels to paper-thin magazines were either stacked in neatly against the wall nearing the ceiling or thrown carelessly on the floor with their covers thrown open. Some of the books with less care had their pages ripped out of their spines and tossed around the room, and even fewer had been ripped apart by what looked like animal claws. Sora kneeled down, picked up a book cover that had being ripped clean, and turned it over to look at the title. The original name of the novel had been called ' _ **Beauty and the Beast'**_ , but someone had scratched it out and replaced it with their own words: _**This is a lie; monsters don't deserve to be loved, they don't deserve happy endings**_ _…_.That was not a good sign….

"Your friend likes to read book, right?" Sora asked Ruby, tossing the cover aside. "Looks like she's not a fan of fairy tales."

"That's why I'm worried about her," said Ruby worriedly. "She used to love reading book all the time, but now she tears up all the ones with happy endings in them and only keeps the ones with sad endings. She keeps saying they're the stories she deserves and it makes me scared." She picked up one of the books off the ground. "She hasn't even touched this one in a long time, and it's her favorite."

Sora took the book from Ruby. It was a rather plain-looking novel with a title ( **Ninja's of love** ) written in bold red letters.

"Ninjas, huh?" Sora hummed curiously.

Sora opened the book to a random page in the middle and read the first passage…then snapped the book shut; his face redder than a boiled lobster.

"Your friend is uh…," Sora stammered embarrassingly. "She's very…bold."

"Hey, one of the pages fell out," said Ruby, poiting to the paper and picking it up.

"No, Ruby, don't look!" Sora yelled dramatically. "Shield your innocent eyes."

"'Akari went up to the third floor to visit the Light Music Club'," Ruby ignored the dire warning and read the page aloud. "'They all sat around and ate cake and snacks while Tsumugi served them tea'. Wow, I didn't know ninjas had music clubs, or had tea parties. Ninjas are so cool."

"Wait, let me see that," said Sora suspiciously. He ripped the page out of her hand before she could respond ("Ah! Paper cut!" yelped Ruby as she sucked her finger) and looked it over himself. "This is one of the missing pages from Akari's book. I can't believe it ended up in this world of all places. I'll definitely have to remember to pay a visit to Professor Goodwitch when we get out of here…if we get out of here. Nice work, Ruby."

Ruby smiled proudly. Sora stuffed the page in the hidden pocket underneath his jacket when they heard something clanging loudly in the darkness, like metal hitting stone. The spiky-haired Huntsmen and his little companion froze, both staring off into the shadows where the noise originated from. Neither one of them moved for a long minute as they waited and listened for any other noises. Another noise that sounded like squeaky wheel creaked eerily in the darkness. Sora's hands tightened tensely on Lyrical Carnation's rod while Ruby pressed herself against Sora's side, making a small whimpering noise.

"You heard that too, right?" Sora asked Ruby; she nodded. "Okay, so maybe not a monster. But that just means there's someone else in here with us….Don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. Ruby, stay close to me; we're going to check it out."

"Do we have to?" asked Ruby nervously.

"We have to find out who else is in here with us," said Sora bravely. "It might end up being your friend. Don't worry, just stick close to me and I'll keep you safe. C'mon…."

The spiky-haired scythe wielder trudged down the hallway past the book-filled reception desk holding Lyrical Carnation in front to light the way and Ruby holding on to the corner of his jacket for security. It was a very short and silent walk to the next area, which opened up into a four way intersection. Sora held his laser scythe higher so the light would shine over the overhead signs. The hallway to the front lead to the patient belongings storage, the left path walked them into the men's ward, and the right hall would take them to the women's section of the hospital. Since Ruby always referred to her friend as female, then – assuming this friend of hers followed the rules – the most likely conclusion would be that she would be somewhere in the women's ward. And as lucky would have it, another clang of metal sounded from the right path along with what sounded like someone cursing – the person sounded distinctly male.

Sora marched into the women's hallway with Ruby shuffling behind him. When they reached the corner turning left, Sora heard the voice again and promptly pushed himself and Ruby cautiously against the wall. The spiky-haired boy carefully peeked around the corner. There was a bright-yellow light pulsing down the hallway over a shadowed figure that was hunched over on the ground, standing next to what looked like a dirty hospital gurney and a tipped over toolbox (Guess that explains the noises, Sora thought). Sora could only see the outline of the shadowy intruder, but he could tell that the person was human and was muttering to himself in a masculine voice. Whether or not this person was good or bad was another question.

Sora looked back down at Ruby and wondered if it would be a better idea to head back than to risk her safety when he was suddenly grabbed by the front of his shirt and flung around the corner. Sora's back hit the wall and he felt a hand pressing down on his chest, keeping him pinned against it. He could see the outline of the person pulling back their fist, immediately raised Lyrical Carnation to block the knuckle with its rod, and locked them in a struggling stalemate. It was only with the combined glow of the red and yellow lights that his attackers aquamarine eyes and curtain fo silvery-white hair finally came into view.

"Riku?" said Sora in surprise.

"Sora?" replied Riku, sounding equally astounded. He took his hands off Sora's chest and stepped back; the yellow light following him turned out to be a floating yellow gemstone. "Whoa, I almost caved your face in for a minute. I thought you might have been one of those monsters I've seen running around town."

"You…you can see the monsters, too?" asked Sora, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, those things are creepy," said Riku. "I've seen a lot of scary things in the past few months, but those things are on a whole 'nother level. They make the Grimm look cute by comparison."

"What are you even doing here in the first place?" asked Sora.

"I could ask you the same thing," said Riku, crossing his arms. "Word is that this town attracts people with guilty hearts, so it's a wonder why you're here. I didn't think you were the type to feel guilty about anything."

"I honestly don't know myself," said Sora honestly. "I was just sitting in my ship, staring off into space, when I suddenly found myself outside of town without Sun, Penny, or Velvet. I ran into a bunch of freaky monsters at the hospital down the street. That's where I found Ruby."

"Ruby?" Riku repeated, sounding surprised as he uncrossed his arms. "Ruby Rose? The huntress with the red hood? You found her?"

"Yeah, but she's….hang on, how did you know Ruby Rose wears a red hood?" asked Sora, staring up at Riku suspiciously.

"You talked about her, last time we met, remember?" said Riku knowingly.

"I said that my scythe used to belong to Ruby," said Sora matter-of-factly. "I never said anything about her wearing a red hood. How'd you find out about that?"

"All right, you caught me," said Riku, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. "You're not the only one that's been making new friends, Sora. I met some people too, and they told me a lot about Ruby Rose. She and the rest of her team are pretty famous around some parts of the worlds. In fact, word through the grapevine has it that when Team RWBY disappeared over ten years ago, they were scattered across multiple worlds, and some of them just vanished altogether. Guess we know where Ruby Rose ended up….It must be nice, making friends with famous people. You can just forget about your old, boring friends, right, Sora?"

"What're you talking about?" said Sora, taken aback. "I wouldn't forget about my friends."

"Really?" asked Riku, leering. "Cause we've been talking for a while now and you never asked if I found Kairi or not."

"Well – that's because…," Sora Stammered.

Before he could come up with an excuse (and felt really bad about not thinking about it in the first place), a sharp scream echoed from down the hall and around the corner, making Sora and Riku spin around on their feet. The scream was human and very young….Sora had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and looked down. Ruby was missing.

"That's Ruby!" yelped Sora as the child screamed again. "I gotta help her!"

"H-Hey, wait!" Riku said shockingly when Sora suddenly took off. "Sora, you can't just run in like that! What if there's – "

But Sora paid him little mind as he skidded around the corner, shouldering his way through the doors leading to cell blocks with Riku reluctantly following him shortly after. He came to another intersection in the halls and looked down each way with a thrill of panic rising in his chest. The overhanging signs in each direction told him that the female wards were through the doors on his left, the sick wards on his right, and the door straight ahead led to the dormitories and seclusion wards. There were so many ways that Sora could go, but he had no idea which way Ruby had vanished to, and if took too long in searching for her, there was the likely possibility that she could – Sora's thought was cut off when he felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped back defensively. Riku held up his hand and stopped his best friend (?) from swinging his laser scythe just short of cutting his face.

"Whoa, Sora, you need to chill out before you hurt someone," said Riku calmly, pushing the scythe away.

"This is no time to 'chill out', Riku," said Sora insistently. "You heard that, didn't you? It sounds like Ruby could be in danger."

"So?" said Riku indiffently.

"What do you mean 'so'?" asked Sora aghast. "We need to find here! She could be hurt or one of those monsters might have gotten her!"

"Does matter to me," said Riku with a disturbingly cold undertone. "I've never even met the girl, so I don't see why it has to end up being my problem. It's her own fault for wandering off, so you should probably just leave her for the monsters to grab her." Sora stared at the silver-haired boy with a mixture of confusion and dread. "Don't give me that look. It's none of our business what happens to her, Sora. You should just leave her behind. That is what you do best, right? Leave your friends behind?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sora. He started to feel a wave of anger rise in his chest. There had been times in the past when Sora disliked Riku, but those had just been little spats they eventually resolved; this was the first time Sora actually felt angry enough to hit his best friend. "Riku, what did you mean by that, huh?"

"Exactly like I said," Riku snapped harshly. "You didn't waste any time replacing me and Kairi for those animals and the robot. I was traveling the worlds looking for you and Kairi because I was worried about you both, but I end up finding you hanging out with a new posse, going on amazing adventures together and laughing it up. I bet you didn't even remember Kairi and I existred until we met at Traverse Town."

"I've been traveling the worlds _**because**_ of you and Kairi!" Sora shouted in frustration. "I asked Sun and the others to help me look for you both because I was worried something happened to you!"

"That's not what I heard!" Riku retorted angrily. "I heard you've been bouncing around worlds looking for Team RWBY, a bunch of total strangers you don't even know, instead of looking for your own friends! Guess when it comes down to it, we know how little either of us matter to you!

"You have no right to look down on me!" yelled Sora, his anger reaching its boiling point. "It was your fault it happened in the first place! You let the Grimm destroy our world because you were so selfish! You wanted to get off the Islands so badly; you let them take away our friends and family! It's your fault that we ended up getting separated, and it was your fault for whatever happens to Kairi – "

Riku punched Sora across the face in a fit of rage, throwing the spiky-haired boy across the room, hitting the linoleum floor on his back, and slid through the double doors leading to the seclusion ward. The scythe wielder slipped across the surprisingly smooth floor until his back hit the wall. Sora winced as he held his right cheek. His aura absorbed the blow, but he was still seeing spots. He started to sit up when Riku rampaged through the double doors with look the told how pissed off he was. Sora didn't have the chance to defend himself before Riku kicked him across the face and threw him down on the floor again. The silver-haired boy stooped down over her former best friend with one knee pressed against Sora's chest to keep him pinned. Riku started to pull back his fist when Sora flipped Lyrical Carnation in his hand and slammed the silver-haired boy upside the head, making him stagger away soothing the sore spot on his head. Sora quickly rolled to his feet and raised Lyrical Carnation defensively against his chest when Riku turned around to face him.

"We don't have to fight, Riku; we're friends," said Sora, though he did not lower his guard. "We said a lot of things we both regret, but – "

"That is so like you, Sora," Riku scoffed. "You always have to play the nice guy routine. You know, I really hate myself for falling for it all these years, but you're not gonna trick me again."

"It's not trick!" Sora said urgently. "Come on, Riku, let's stop this now before we both do something we regret."

"Believe me, I'm not going to regret – OOF!" Riku yelped.

The silver-haired boy was suddenly thrown sideways as if he had been hit by a speeding truck and hit the back wall with his shoulder; he didn't break anything, but he still winced from pain. Sora called out to his best friend (assuming they were still friends) when he heard something come at him from the side and spun around Lyrical Carnation parallel to his chest. Something hit the scythe's rod and pushed Sora back with enough force to send him sliding up to the back wall as well. The two island boys looked to one another, nodded in a silent agreement for a ceasefire, and projected their respective lights forward to illuminate the hall.

The narrow corridor was cluttered with what seemed like dozens of stoop, violently twitching bloody sacks of flesh, jerking back and forth on their thin, crooked legs. These monsters possessed no visible features because they entire body was covered in a cocoon of skin that had been soaked in blood, dripping crimson all over the sanitarium floor; the creases and outlines of their contorted bodies looked like men trapped in straightjackets, which didn't seem that far off considering the place they were in. The skin around their faces stretched and a small indentation appeared where their mouths should have been, but their shouts were muffled and sounded closer to radio static rather than actual screams.

"More friends of yours?" said Riku.

"Seriously? You're still going on about that?" said Sora exasperatedly.

Before Riku had a chance to fire back, one of the Straightjackets ("A little on the nose, don't you think?" Sun would say in the near future) was drawn by their red and yellow lights and broke off from the rest of its group and charged headlong at the duo. The Straightjacket was unexpectedly fast; Sora and Riku barely had time to sidestep and let the monster headbutt into the wall. Its head splattered against the concrete, splashing black ooze across the surface and sprinkling some on Sora and Riku's clothes. The silver-haired boy wiped the ooze away without flinching or a sign of disgust, but Sora made a retching noise in the back of his throat as he stumbled backwards away from the headless corpse. And in his disgusted distraction, Sora accidentally bumped into another Straightjacket that had been looming in the shadows behind him, not realizing it until he felt the monster's bloody flesh wiping up against the back of his jacket. Sora snapped his head over his shoulders as the Straightjacket squealed in his face, causing the spiky-haired boy to cover his ears and shut his eyes. before it could attack him, however, Riku suddenly jumped in and punched the monster in the face, throwing it back into the rest of his brethren and causing a pileup.

"Thanks," said Sora gratefully.

"Unlike you, I don't abandon my friends," said Riku firmly.

"I didn't abandon you!" yelled Sora heatedly. "We were separated! I – "

"Behind you!" shouted Riku.

Without having to see what it was, Sora flipped Lyrical Carnation in his hand and swiped the laser scythe backwards, slicing through the Straightjacket's face at a diagonal angle. The slab of loose meat slipped off the monsters head and hit the floor with a _squelching_ noise before it body hit the ground motionless. Unlike the Tormentors in the hospital, the Straightjackets were capable of being killed, but that didn't mean it was any easier on Sora's stomach – the very stench of their rotting flesh provoked Sora's gag reflex. Sora looked away from the corpse just as Riku lifted another Straightjacket off the ground with little effort and slammed the monster into the wall with an audible _crack_ – Riku dropped the lifeless body carelessly, clapping his hands clean when he noticed Sora's disturbed expression.

"What?" asked Riku.

"You…did that so easy," said Sora strangely. "Aren't you, like, grossed out? I mean, these aren't like killing Grimm."

"You're such a little kid," said Riku tauntingly. "You aren't afraid of getting a little blood on you, are ya?"

"Not afraid, it's just…creepy," said Sora hesitantly.

"I'm not if you can see because it's so dark, but I'm rolling my eyes right now," said Riku mockingly. He casually walked further down the hall with his light floating next to him. "You can stay back if you want. Let me show you how a real man fights."

Sora knew he was being insulted, but he was too worried about Riku's mental state to be angry. Sure, there were times were the silver-haired boy would taunt Sora and pick a fight, but they were all done in harmless fun and he always knew how to hold back for his sake. But this Riku was different from the one back on the Islands. This Riku spoke with sharp edge that was intended to hurt and the way he brushes off killing another living creature – even a nightmarish monster – was way too casual to be comfortable. Sora clenched Lyrical Carnation's staff as he grimaced at Riku's back.

The silver-haired boy padded down the hall with his shoes clacking against the linoleum until the edge of his yellow light touched the nearest Straightjacket's feet, attracting the monster's attention immediately. The Straightjackets turned as a group and howled in their high-pitched static tone. Riku openly scoffed at the monsters and took his stance: One arm stretched forward with his other arms raised parallel to his head, his black bracelets expanded into their shotgun-gauntlet forms.

The Straightjackets began to stagger forward, but Riku suddenly bounded across the hall and closed the difference between them faster than Sora could have anticipated. He swung his right fist around and slammed his knuckles into the fleshy sack where the monster's head should have been; a bone rattling _**BANG**_ overpowered the Straightjacket's moans and a brief flare of flames exploded between them. The Straightjacket's face was completely blown apart and the backdraft blew the cluster of monsters away, throwing them into the doors and walls. Even before the now-headless Straightjacket's body it the floor, Riku had already bounced over to the right side wall and captured two ore Straightjacket's in matching strangleholds underneath his arms. The silver-haired boy seemed to allow the fleshy monsters to struggle in his grip before he pulled up sharply. Sora flinched at the sickening _**SNAP**_ that came from their necks before Riku dropped them carelessly on the ground, motionless.

Riku shot a smirk to Sora, seemingly amused by his best friend's terrified expression, when he threw his hand back and caught a charging Straightjacket by the throat without even looking. Once again, Riku allowed the monster to struggle before he effortlessly snapped the monster neck with his fingers and dropped him. The whole time, Riku never looked away from his childhood friend. It was like he was purposely doing it to prove something to Sora, maybe to show how much better he was than the scythe-wielder or maybe it was a warning for what Riku might do to him if he decided to make the silver-haired boy mad. For some reason, Sora couldn't help feeling it might have been a little bit of both – and that's what worried him.

The rest of the Straightjackets that had been blown back by Riku's first attack were starting to pick themselves up, moaning out more static and lurching back and forth unbalanced as they approached the boxer. Riku finally turned away from his best friend with an almost uninterested sigh as he faced the Straightjacket's that were starting to flock together. In an exaggeratedly slow motion, Riku raised both of his hands purposely for Sora to see and pumped them; a soft click of a reloading function rang from the shotgun gauntlets.

He took his stance once more as the Straightjacket's edged closer and punched his fist into the air. A thunderous _**BANG**_ rang out in the hallway, a yellowish-red flare was thrown at the Straightjacket's feet, and a great explosion went off that consumed two monsters in flames. The contorted sacks of flesh flailed and rolled on the linoleum as the flames licked their skin, filling the corridor with a noxious smell that made Sora gag, before they finally went limp as two lumps of charcoal on the floor. Riku took six more shots immediately after, lighting up the hallway with a massive bonfire borne from Silent Hill's monsters. As the Straightjackets screeched and flailed while the raging fires devoured them, Sora could help but be in awe of the display. He couldn't even kill a single Tormentor in Alchemilla Hospital, but Riku took out an entire swarm of Straightjackets in only a handful of moves. That either meant that the Straightjackets were ridiculously weak…or that Riku had become ridiculously stronger….Sora had an easier time believing the latter.

"Heh, that was easy," said Riku, clapping his hands as if you wipe dust off. "Those freaks were pushovers. Bet you couldn't have done that, could ya, Sora? You probably don't have the stomach for even half the stuff in this messed up town."

"Riku, what's happened to you?" asked Sora worriedly.

"What're you talking about?" said Riku, leering at Sora. "All I did was killed a bunch of monsters. No big deal – you do it all the time."

"Yeah, but these things are different from the Grimm," said Sora, gesturing to the charred pile of corpses. "Those things look like they could have been human. Doesn't it make you sick thinking about it? And the way you killed them…it looked like you were really enjoying it. It's like you were having _fun_ killing them. Do you know how messed up that looks?"

"Oh, sure, when I'm the one putting down monsters, I'm the bad guy," said Riku scathingly. "You're so full of yourself, running around and flashing that scythe like your Ruby Rose herself these days. If you think you're the hero here, Sora, then why haven't you found Kairi yet? You've been so busy helping other people than you've completely forgotten about her."

"No, I didn't!" shouted Sora. "I want to find Kairi – I really do – but I'm not going to just abandon anyone that needs my help. Kairi wouldn't want that."

"How do you know what Kairi wants?" growled Riku.

"How do you?" retorted Sora.

The two friends glared hard at one another; neither one dared to make a move or look away in fear that they might end up leaving themselves vulnerable to the other. Sora couldn't believe this was happening. He and Riku have been best friends literally since the day Sora was born, but now he looked at his silver-haired best friend and he can't even recognize him. Never before had Riku been so open to violence – even their play fighting had just been for fun and there was no intent to hurt anyone. But the way Riku was staring at him now with his hardened golden eyes….Wait, golden eyes? Riku's eyes had always been blueish-green. When did they –

Sora's train of thought broke off when a sudden chill flittered through the corridor, making both him and Riku shiver briefly. Then a red glow came from the end of the hallway and attracted their attention. That familiar satanic symbol from the Alchemilla Hospital was somehow written into existence one of the five seclusion cells at the end of the room, but there was a slight change to the symbols. There used to be four markings written inside the circles – a rose, a snowflake, a flower, and a heart – only now the heart was missing, wiped out of existence. Sora wondered if there was any significance to the symbol and the blonde women he had put to rest at the hospital.

"The town's trying to lead us," said Riku suddenly.

"Huh?" said Sora, not having been paying attention.

"Silent Hill," Riku explained. "From what I heard, it leads those trapped in this town to face their literal personal demons. That mark on the door – it's the ritual symbol used by the cultists that once lived in this city before their god punished them and doomed them to this nightmare. Whatever is on the other side of that door, Silent Hill wants us to face it."

"And we're not getting out until we do, aren't we?" said Sora.

"Yep," said Riku, popping the 'p' with his lips. "Look, Sora, whatever differences we have right now, we can resolve them after we get out of this town. So…truce?"

As Riku offered his hand, Sora didn't waste any time shaking it, but he couldn't shake off the misgiving he still had. The spiky-haired boy stared into his best friend's eyes for a moment and realized that they were their normal blueish-green color. Sora sighed in relief – it must have just been a trick of the light.

Sora and Riku walked together to the door with the ritual symbol and stopped in front of it; they could feel a sense of dread and despair washing over them the closer they got, as if all hope and joy was being sucked out of their bodies. Sora felt the sudden urge to just give up on life, but quickly shook his head of the thought. This town was starting to mess with him in dangerous ways. They needed to defeat whatever was behind this door and get out of Silent Hill quickly. The two of them shared an affirming nod and Riku reached out for the handle, pausing for a moment, and then pushed the door inward. The door flew open wide and a flash of white light filled their visions –

* * *

Sora was back inside his memories, somehow remembering a distance thought that he had long forgotten in nine years. It seemed so insignificant at first, but something – perhaps Silent Hill – was forcing him to relive that day again, probably trying to tell him something. Everything was as Sora has left it in the first flashback: Little Sora and Little Riku were exploring the secret place, inspected the wooden panel in the wall, and Little Sora complained about the lack of action. Then little Riku turned to face his best friends with a serious look in his eyes, almost as serious as his older counterpart. Some part of Sora wondered if this was the point where his best friend started to change, but that seemed rather unlikely.

"Hey, Sora," said Riku.

"Hm?" little Sora hummed, turning to Riku.

"When we grow up, let's get off this island," said Riku strongly. "We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!"

"Sure," Little Sora accepted as they started to walk out of the cave. "But isn't there anything fun to do now?"

"Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house?" said Riku suddenly. "Did you hear? She arrived on the night of the meteor shower!"

"So?" asked Sora inquisitively.

"So, that can't just be a coincidence, right?" said Riku. "A new girl no one has ever seen before just suddenly arrives on the same night when there's a huge meteor shower! The islands are too small for anyone _not_ to know her! That means she's from another world!"

Sora remembered not believing his best friend until a week later when they actually met Kairi for the first time. Little Sora walked out of the secret place and the memory should have ended there, but present-day Sora still lingered. He watched as Little Riku started to make his way after his best friend when he suddenly stopped and turned around, facing the panel in the wall. Older Sora looked in the same direction and realized that there was one more person in the cavern that hadn't been there seconds ago.

The stranger was standing close to the wooden panel with their back turned to Riku, reaching out and caressing the smooth surface with – is that a metal arm, Sora wondered in bewilderment. From where Sora was standing (existing?), he could not make out the stranger's face, only that this newcomer was a tall woman with a ridiculously long mane of golden hair….There was something familiar about it that Sora couldn't quite put his finger on. The woman's metallic fingers brushed off the wooden panel and suddenly seemed to realize that she wasn't alone anymore, turning her head ever slightly and peeking over the shoulder. Little Riku looked apprehensive and raised his fists defensively.

The woman turned slowly –

* * *

Sora blinked and – very much like last time – his memories of the Destiny Islands faded into the deepest recesses of his mind, far out of his reach. Or at least, part of that vision had been his memory. The spiky-haired boy remembered everything up to the moment when he left the secret place, but he did not remember seeing the golden-haired woman with the metal arm because he had not been present at the time. Somehow…Sora had slipped into Riku's memories. And speaking of his (former, maybe?) best friend, Riku blinked his eyes repeatedly as he came out of his own stupor and turned to meet his gaze with Sora's, looking just as lost as he felt.

Saying nothing to each other, the boys from the islands looked around at the strange new environment that Silent Hill had sent them too, which was rather difficult because of the lack of lighting in the place. The room was much larger than it looked on the other side of the door, only because neither boy could see the opposite end of the chamber with the weak lights that they carrier, nor could they see the ceiling – it was hard to think that it didn't just open into the endless abyss. The walls and floor were covered by a soft, padded material almost like a mattress, but the white cushions were stained with a disturbing mixture of black grime, a colorful assortment of terrible-smelling liquids, and the undeniable sprinkles of blood. Besides the unmentionable stains everywhere, the floor was also littered with over hundreds of sheets of paper that looked like pages ripped out of books. From what Sora could see into the thin glow of his scythe, the pages had been taken out of different types of books – some were taken from lengthy novels, some ripped from text books, and a couple that were taken out of children's picture books. The one thing they all had in common was that each of them was scrawled over with negative words written in wide, black ink: _**MONSTER, LIAR, COWARD, TRAITOR, WRETCH, FREAK, ABOMINATION,**_ and many others that just got worse.

Riku nudged Sora with his elbow, attracting his attention, and pointed forward while holding his light closer toward the middle of the room. Sora raised his scythe in that direction, casting Lyrical Carnation's faint glow over the faint outline of a person they had not noticed until now. Once again, body belonged to that of a tall woman, but with a curtain of wavy black hair that blended into the darkness instead of a wild mane of tangled blonde. There were two points poking out of the top of her head, but Sora couldn't make them out properly because they also blended into the background. She was sitting cross legged in the middle of the floor with a mess of tattered books and pages sprawled carelessly around her in a messy circle, covered red spatters of blood. Looking closely, Sora realized that the blood was coming from the hundreds of cuts running up and down the woman's pale arms, dripping openly like they were freshly drawn.

The dark-haired woman moved and Riku threw his hand out protectively against Sora's chest – Sora was gladder that Riku still felt protective of him rather than insulted by thinking he couldn't handle himself. Something glimmered in the woman's right hand as she brought it over to her left wrist. The woman slowly dragged the item across her skin and a crimson river spilled over her wrist and dripped onto the floor. Sora took a sharp intake of breath – she was cutting herself.

The dark-haired woman started to raise the knife to her forearm again, but Sora dashed around Riku's arm and slapped the knife out of her hand, throwing it into the darkness. The self-harming woman kept her head bowed, obscuring her face it hair and shadow.

"Stop that!" commanded Sora forcefully. "Why are you hurting yourself? That's seriously messed up!"

"Messed up?" said the dark-haired woman in a small, almost inaudible voice. "Yeah…I'm messed up….I've always been messed up….It's not more than what I deserve. No…no, I definitely deserve much worse, but that was the only thing I had on me, so it was the best that I could do. They won't let me have any rope or cloth to hang with, or anything bigger or sharper to – "

"Just stop that!" snapped Sora. "You shouldn't be hurting yourself at all!"

"I deserve it," said the dark-haired woman. "I deserve every bad thing this town has to offer. I want those monsters to find me, to rip me apart, to cut me to pieces, to make me suffer every torture they have….But they avoid me. They don't want to come anywhere near me. They want me to stay alive…and that's my personal hell."

"Why would you want to hurt yourself?" asked Sora worriedly.

"Sora, this is none of our business," said Riku, leering at the woman.

"We can't just leave her like this," Sora argued.

"You really should," said the dark-haired woman. "It's all I've ever done. All my life, I've always ran away when everything started to get tough, and I didn't care how much it hurt the people I left behind. I abandoned my cause because I didn't have the stomach to do what they were willing to do. I fled from my friends and the only home I knew when they found out who I really was under that bow because I was scared they would reject me. And then, when the world was burning around me, when my friends were weak and scared…when the person I loved was lying on the ground, bleeding to death…I ran to the opposite side of the world without even saying a word….I abandoned them all…."

"Where does that sound familiar?" said Riku pointedly.

"Not helping, Riku," said Sora, glaring at his friend. He turned back to the dark-haired girl and rested his hands gently on her shoulder. "Look…I honestly don't know what to say that will make you feel any better. But the fact that you regret running away all those times means you're not a bad person, right? I mean, if you ran away and didn't feel bad about what you did, then that would be terrible. But you do feel bad, because you loved all those people. I'm not saying that what you did was right, but that doesn't mean you can't make it up. You might have run away before, but you can always run back. They might not forgive you right away, but…it's better to let them know how bad you feel for leaving and try to make it up to them." His eyes lifted over the woman's head, staring towards Riku. "Because you're still friends, right?"

Riku didn't openly reject the comment, but he did cross his arms and looked away.

"That's a sweet thing for you to say," said the dark-haired woman. She reached for Sora's hands, pulled them off, and slowly raised herself up. As she started to tower over the spiky-haired boy, Sora felt an ominous sense of foreboding. "But that's not how reality works. You can't just say you're sorry and expect them to forgive you. Sometime…people don't deserve to be forgiven. Sometime…" her voice went deeper and gained a slight rumble "you have to accept what you really are: **A MONSTER**!"

The dark-haired woman hunched over, moaning painfully behind close lips, holding herself as her body began to tremble uncontrollably. That's when the shadows around suddenly came to life and swarmed over the dark-haired woman like a swarm of locus'. Riku was the one to pull Sora back by the nape of his jacket, bounded backwards away from the cocoon of darkness before they were pulled into the shadows. They could hear cracking bones, muffled cries, and other uncomfortable noises inside the cocoon before they were replaced by slow, heavy breathing and a soft, rumbling growl. Sora and Riku prepared themselves for combat as the shadows finally fell away to a…creature that stood stooped just out of the boy's line of sight. Sora and Riku cautiously held their light forward to illuminate.

The term beast seemed to fit the monster rather well – and Shadow Beast would make for an appropriate name for the creature in Sora's opinion. The dark-haired woman had grown by several feet, more than doubling the Destiny Island boys in size, while her muscles bulged with raw strength. Her clothing had been ripped to shreds all over the floor, leaving her bare as the day she was born – Sora's first instinct was the cover her eyes with one hand, his face burning red, until Riku slapped it away, silently chastising him for dropping his guard. Thankfully for Sora, her lower body and both of her arms were covered in thick layers of black fur not unlike that of a Beowolf with hocked legs and four razor sharp nails on each hand and her long, wavy hair fell over her shoulders to cover her breasts. Though the cuts on her arms and legs were closed, the open wounds on her bare chest were bleeding waterfalls of crimson all over her front, the biggest coming the heart-shaped scar between her breasts. And to top it all off, the Grimm mask that covered her eyes, giving her the true essence of the monster she claimed to be.

Riku pumped his fists to reload his shotgun-gauntlets as Sora swung Lyrical Carnation behind himself and crouched low in preparation.

"Still feel like helping her?" asked Riku sarcastically.

"At least I tried to help her," Sora argued. "That's more than what you did. You just wanted to leave her alone."

"She wasn't our problem, but now she is," said Riku. "This is one of Silent Hill's tests. We have to take it out if we wanna get out of here. Think you can handle it?"

"Just watch me," said Sora confidently. "I already took out the Fire Dragon at the hospital all by myself. With you here, it's gonna be a piece of cake."

"…Oh no, why'd you have to say that?" Riku groaned in his hand. "You never say stuff like 'it's gonna be a piece of cake' or 'what's the worst that can happen'? That's when things ALWAYS go bad."

The Shadow Beast snarled like savage beast despite having the face of a human as it slowly two steps backwards out of the range of their light and seamlessly blended with the darkness. Sora and Riku immediately stood back-to-back with their weapons drawn forward, cautiously moving in a slow circle. The papers ruffled and crumpled beneath their feet as they turned, but there was an uneasy silence inside everything that the darkness touched. They knew that the whole room was littered with pages, so at the very least they should have heard some noise of the Shadow Beast's movements. It was as if someone had suddenly turned off the sound, which given the strangeness of this town, wasn't too hard to believe.

"Do you see anything?" asked Sora.

"What do you expect me to see in this darkness?" Riku responded. "I've never seen shadows this thick before – I can barely see my own hand in front of me. This kind of darkness isn't natural."

"Well…look on the bright side," said Sora optimistically. "Maybe this means she can't see us either."

"Sora…," Riku said with a sigh, casting a look over his shoulder. "Do you ever listen to yourself when you – "

In that instant when the silver-haired boy looked away, the Shadow Beast suddenly pounced out of the shadows with its right claw reeled back. The Shadow Beast slapped its claw across Riku with a great deal of strength that rattled the boxer's bone and shot him away into the darkness away from Sora. Thanks to the yellow light that followed Riku, Sora saw his best friend flying across the room until he hit the far side wall less than twenty feet away, slumping on the floor. Sora pounded his heel into the padded floor and spun around swinging his Lyrical Carnation back with all his strength, but the Shadow Beast had already pulled back and became swallowed by the darkness once more.

"Riku, are you – " Sora yelled.

But just as he turned towards his best friend's direction, the Shadow Beast suddenly lunged out in front of him, their faces so close that they were only a foot away from each other. Sora stumbled back in surprise, accidentally tripping over his over feet and starting to fall backwards. The Shadow Beast reached out and latched its claws around Sora's face before slamming his head into the floor. Had the cell not been completely padded, Sora was sure his head would have gone through the ground, but that didn't mean the Shadow Beast wouldn't keep trying. The human-animal hybrid lifted the scythe wielder off the ground by the face, slammed his head in the floor again, and continued to repeat this pattern four more times, each one making a larger indentation in the padded surface.

As the Shadow Beast lifted Sora up for a fifth time, a yellow light flared overhead as Riku came down on top of the monster with his fist reeled back and shotgun-gauntlet loaded. Riku punched his fist and shot a flare at the Shadow Beast's back, but just moments before it could hit, the human-animal hybrid seemingly evaporated into the darkness, letting the flare hit Sora in the chest instead. Sora's aura absorbed most of the damage, but he could feel the invisible shielding shattering around his body. When the spiky-haired Huntsman hit the floor, he could actually feel the impact of the padded ground pressing against his body instead of a normal feathery brush that he was accustomed to in battles. That's when Sora realized – for the first time in many months – he was vulnerable.

Riku was unaware – or perhaps uninterested – in his best friend's problems. The Shadow Beast had just narrowly escaped him, which meant she must be nearby, but this pitch blackness prevented him from seeing more than a couple feet in front of him. Well, he would just have to correct that, Riku thought. The silver-haired boy reloaded his gauntlets and then started shooting off dozens of flares in every direction of the room, covering the spaces in a small, flicking yellowish-red glow. A picture started to form as more areas of the padded cell became illuminated…until a dark blur whizzed past one of the flares and snuffed it out. Riku gasped and turned in that direction just as another flare went out…then another…then another…then another until every trace of light had been successfully extinguished before they even touched the floor.

Riku pumped his fists to reload his gauntlets when a hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed him by the forearm. The silver-haired boy turned his head and found himself mere inches away from the Shadow Beast's face; he could _feel_ the stench of blood and tuna in her breath. Riku pulled back his free hand to shoot when the Shadow Beast increased the pressure of its grip on the boy's arm that he could feel his skin and muscles pressing inwards on his bones. Riku dropped down to one knee, grimacing in pain. The Shadow Beast then raised the boy off the ground by his arm and immediately drilled him with a heavy punch to the stomach that sent him flying into the nearest wall a few feet away. Though the padded walls cushioned his landing, the Shadow Beast's blow had been powerful enough to hatter his aura barrier, leaving him vulnerable to attack.

Riku struggled to get himself back on his feet using the wall for support. The silver-haired boy gritted his teeth and stared above, not the least bit surprised that the Shadow Beast was standing over him. The human-animal hybrid spread its claws threatening over Riku's head and swiped down…before the monster's four nails landed on the padded floor around Riku's feet, leaving the monster's hand bare.

A trail of red light flashed through the air as Sora bounded in between Riku and Shadow Beast twirling Lyrically Carnation, planted his foot into the floor, and swiped the laser scythe across the Shadow Beast's breast ("I wasn't aiming there on purpose, I swear!" Sora said with a beet-red face). A large gash cut across the monster's bosom, making the creature cry out as fresh blood poured from the open wound and spilled down its front, through its legs, and splattered over the floor.

The Shadow Beast took a few steps away, caressing its claws across the new open wound in an almost satisfying way. Riku took its distraction as an opportunity, taking a great step forward with his shotgun-gauntlet cocked, and threw a right hook at the monster's face. Much to the silver-haired boy's surprise, his knuckle stuck the human-animal hybrid squarely in its mask, but Riku felt no substance behind it. His seem seemingly passed through the Shadow Beast's head as it faded away like a wisp of smoke. On any other occasion, Riku would feel frustrated that he had let to land a single hit on the enemy thus far, but instead he looked thoughtful. He stared at his hand, opening and clenching into a fist, looked back at Sora and Lyrical Carnation, then looked down at the floor before he noticed that he was standing outside the edge of their combined light source and in the darkness. Riku hummed to himself thoughtfully.

"Riku, are you all right?" asked Sora in concern.

"I've had better days, but I'm alive," said Riku, stepping back into the light.

"How're we gonna beat that thing?" asked Sora. "Every time we try to hit it, that thing always keeps getting away. It's like trying to catch smoke. I was lucky to at least get one shot on that thing."

"That wasn't luck, Sora," said Riku. "You just found out it weakness.

"I have?" asked Sora dumbstruck.

"Haven't you noticed how that monster avoids stepping into the light?" said Riku. "At first, I thought that was just because it wanted to keep itself hidden so it can attack us from any direction. I tried firing off some flares to help us see better, but that thing blew them out. That got me thinking: why would it go so far just to keep itself in the dark – that thing is obviously fast and strong enough to take us both on, so why hide. That's why when I figured it out: that monster doesn't hide in the darkness, it becomes the darkness."

"You mean its transforming into shadow when it goes into the dark?" asked Sora surprisingly.

"Exactly," said Riku. "The reason it avoiding the light is because it turns that thing solid. That's why your scythe could hurt it, because it's made of light."

"That's nice to know, Riku, but I don't see how that's gonna help," said Sora. They both heard a noise in the darkness and jumped back-to-back again, turning cautiously in a circle. "Unless you got a spotlight hidden somewhere, there's no way we can make enough light to cover the whole place."

"Actually, I got that one all figured out," said Riku, smirking confidently over his shoulder while Sora looked at him inquisitively. "C'mon, Sora, you seriously didn't think I was just sitting around doing nothing while you were playing around with your new friends – I know, I know, now's not the time to argue – " he interrupted before Sora could get a word in " – but it's true. I've been training even harder once I found out about the Grimm. And while you've been taking your time learning how to work _your_ semblance, I already mastered mine."

"You have a semblance?" said Sora in a shocked tone.

"Yeah, watch this," said Riku eagerly.

The silver-haired boy raised his hands out in front of him and held them with his palms facing up while Sora watched in curiosity. Two roaring fires suddenly sparked to life in Riku's palms, coating his hands like a pair of flickering gloves, but the silver-haired boy did not seem to feel the heat of the flames. Unlike ordinary fire, Riku's flames were a shade of deep-blue and instead of making the room hotter, Sora couldn't help feeling a slight chill when he got close. The fli9ckering lights cast a wide shadow over Riku's face, making him look very ominous, and when Sora looked into his best friend's eyes again, he noticed that they had altered from their usual calming blue to piercing gold – just like they had earlier.

Riku brought his hands together over his head, shaping the blue flames into one large fireball, and then slowly stretched his arms outwards to expand the radius of the cerulean pyro sphere. With every second that passed (if time even worked properly in Silent Hill, Sora wondered) the blue fireball grew larger in Riku's hands, starting off at the size of a beach ball and quickly swelling to the size of a small car. The light radiating from the fire sphere stretched farther as it expanded until it covered every inch of the room in a transparent, eerie-blue color. The thousands of scattered book pages and blood splatters were cast into view, the walls and ceiling of the padded call finally visible, and there, lurking in the corner of the room with its hands trying to hide its face, was the Shadow Beast.

"Now! Take it out, Sora!" yelled Riku.

"Got it!" Sora replied.

Sora grounded himself and strengthened his grip on Lyrical Carnation's rod before dashing forward at lightning speed. With his semblance, he crossed the room faster than a person could blink, bringing him face-to-face with the Shadow Beast. This time, it was the Shadow Beast that lurched back in surprise and started to lift its claw in retaliation, but it was far too late to react. Quick as a flash, Sora swung Lyrical Carnation across the Shadow's Beast's neck. There was a silent pause…then the woman's tilted sideways off its shoulder, hitting the ground with a soft thud, and Sora sidestepped out of the way before the body dropped to its knees and fell forward next to it. The spiky-haired boy looked down at the decapitated corpse and fought back the bile that was crawling up his throat – he was never going to get used to the sight of dead bodies and he was pretty sure he didn't want to.

"Wouldn't call that that cleanest victory," said Riku, walking over to stand with his friend; the blue mini-sun lingered near the ceiling. "But any win you can walk away from is a good win, right?"

"I guess," said Sora after swallowing his lunch back down. "Thpough I think I prefer fighting Grimm. At least they don't leave…messes when they die."

"True that," Riku nodded and looked around. "So…this room doesn't have any doors, which is weird considering how we got here. Any ideas on how to get out?"

"Wait for it….," said Sora cryptically.

Both boys stood around and waited…then a sudden flash of light filled their vision and the world fades around them once more….

* * *

 _ **I never hated you for leaving us like you did.**_

 _ **I was hurt, I felt betrayed, I wanted to scream, but I never hated you.**_

 _ **You were afraid of losing us, because you loved us. A monster could never love like you.**_

 _ **So Even if you run away again, just know that you will always have a home to come back to.**_

* * *

Sora groaned as he slowly sat up, feeling like he had just been dropped from a very high place on his back, and blinked the spots from his vision. When the blinding light finally died down, Sora found himself sitting on the stone walkway leading up to the Cedar Grove Sanatorium, just like how he had been dropped off at the hospital. Whatever darkness that has been cast over the town – probably caused by the Shadow Beast – had been cast away, but now Silent Hill had a new problem: snow. Billions of billions of white specks falling from the unseen sky and blanketing everything it could touch in its cold powder. Looking out in the distance over the high walls, Sora could see that all of Silent Hill was covered in snow from the rooftops, to the sidewalks, and practically buried everything that was stationary on the streets.

Sora grew up on a tropical island, so he never encountered anything colder than cold rain shower during the winter seasons. The spiky-haired boy rubbed his arms for warm, his breath coming out as a white mist.

"First fog, then night, and now snow," Sora mumbled to himself. "I just wanna get out of this crazy town as fast as possible. Hey, Ruby!" He called out to the little girl. She did not respond. "Ruby, are you around here? C'mon, stop hiding! This no time for games!"

"But Sora, I thought you liked games," Sora spun around towards the gate, sighting Riku with his hand on his hip. "Or are you too cool to play them now that you have that scythe?"

"Riku, let's not start this again. I need to – " Sora's words trailed off as his gaze fell to the limp figure under Riku's arm. He recognized that hoodie, he knew that hair color. Sora looked slowly back up at Riku, who was leering up at his old friend. "Riku…what are you doing with Ruby?"

"What I came here to do," said Riku coolly. "Silent Hill didn't bring me here, I came to Silent Hill of my own free will."

"Why?" asked Sora.

"For her," said Riku, swinging the little girl lazily in his arms; Sora gritted his teeth at his lack of consideration. "I will admit, when Zeref told me to come collect the girl at Silent Hill, I had no idea it would end up being the famous Ruby Rose. Though I was kind of expecting her to be a little older."

"You're working with Zeref?" Sora gasped. "Riku, are you out of your mind? Zeref is a dangerous criminal! You can't trust him!"

"I trust him a whole lot more than I do you," said Riku harshly. "I won't deny that Zeref can be dangerous, but he's wise; he knows things about the Grimm and a person's soul. If I keep helping Zeref, then he promised he would help bring her soul back. I don't have any other choice."

"Wait a minute?" said Sora questionably. "Are you talking about Kairi?"

"What do you care about her?" Riku snapped fiercely.

With that final word, Riku turned around and fled down the stone path through the gates and out into the streets of Silent Hill. Sora yelled for him to come back, but he really shouldn't have expected that to work – Riku always had a difficult time listening to what other people were saying. Grumbling under his breath, Sora immediately chased after him.

* * *

 **When working on Riku in the Silent Hill environment, it occurred to me how much he parallels many of the RWBY characters, especially Yang. Both of them are hotshots, but they can get frustrated when things don't work out their way and they both share the feelings of being abandoned by their closest friends. You know, when I was in the planning stages for this story, I had originally meant for Riku to be Blake's "successor" because of their dark powers and that their weapons were swords, but I changed it because I didn't see Blake being their person to pass on her mission to another person given her history and personality. So I went with Yang because she could see potential for another person's future and – in a way – Riku is the Yin to her Yang (Totally unintentional, but Yang-worthy pun).**

 **I think you can guess who's going to be next in the last of the Silent Hill Triology, which may end up being my favorite fight scene if everything goes as planned. And at the end of the chapter, a very big secret about Evil Ruby Rose will revealed.**

 **So until that time, please read and review.**


	26. Welcome to Silent Hill, Part 3

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Welcome to Silent Hill, Part 3**

Sora dashed through the gates to the Cedar Grove Sanatorium into the snow-covered streets of Silent Hill, his throat feeling uncomfortably sore as white clouds of breath left him and a chill raked his whole body. He shuddered and rubbed his arms for warmth. Sora had never encountered such a cold grown up on the Destiny Islands, nor during his travels between the worlds – the closest did he ever come to feeling this cold was in proximity of Gray Fullbuster's ice magic. His choice of cloths were also not ideal; his arms and legs were completely exposed to the elements as the ice breeze brushed against his skin and his finger felt like they would fall off his hands any moment. Sora wanted to be warm; he wanted to run back to the sanatorium, or better yet, the hospital where he would be safe from the cold, but he could not.

Sora pressed on, plowing through the knee-high snow despite every cell in his body telling him to run to the nearest heated room. Riku, his best friend from childhood, not only flat-out told Sora that he was working for one of the most dangerous criminals on the TSAB's Most Wanted, but he had also got so far as to kidnap little Ruby Rose. Sora was still trying to figure out _why_ he wanted Ruby, but the fact remained that his best friend had taken a little girl hostage.

Sora followed the footmarks left in the snow by Riku leading up Arcadia Road back towards the northern areas of the town closer to the hospital and the theater. The snow was starting to come down heavy over Silent Hill and was beginning to fill in the footmarks, making it that more difficult for Sora to track. The fenced wall of the cemetery was to his right; the hilltops beyond the iron rods were blanketed in a layer of white power and the endless numbers of tombstones were completely buried in heaping mounds of snow. The few statues that were inside the graveyard were free of the snow, but were coated in thick ice with dozens of icicles dangling from their arms and angelic wings like they had suddenly been flash frozen, which might have been closer to the truth than anything else.

He finally made it past the cemetery and moved on from the stone path leading to the distant church and started walking the streets in front of the apartment complex. When Sora looked down again, he grimaced at the realization that the snow had finally concealed all of Riku's footprints, meaning he had no idea which direction was supposed to be heading. Sora breathed into his hands and rubbed them together, trying to get warm, but without ever truly feeling it. This sudden winter was as unnatural as everything else in Silent Hill. It was like the cold wasn't just trying to freeze his body, but also freeze his soul. Sora kept moving, feeling that if he stopped for even a moment, the cold would take him and he would never escape.

"Riku!" shouted Sora. "Riku! Ruby! Where are you? Riku, whatever happened, we can work it out together! Come on, this isn't funny! Riku! Ruby, if you can hear me, say something! Anyone?"

But Sora's voice was lost in the howling winds as the snow came down harder and blew a heavy gust of cold air in the scythe-wielder's face. The spiky-haired boy gritted his teeth and raised his arm protectively over his face; it felt like a thousand needles were prickling against his skin. Sora continued to push forward; the fact that Silent Hill was attacking him this far into the city meant that he was getting closer to something he shouldn't, which meant he was getting closer to Ruby and Riku. He turned the corner of Arcadia Road and Koontz Street walking past Artaud Theater when he suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, mouth hanging open but no word coming out.

At first, he thought they were just a couple hundred snow piles that had built up in the middle of the road, but that was before those "snow piles" started twitching violently and murmured in deep undecipherable voices that sent chills down Sora's spine (then again, that could have just been the cold). Their grotesque, humanoid bodies were hairless, pale-skinned, and lacked facial features or distinguishable traits other than unhealthily emaciated frames. Since he arrived in Silent Hill, Sora had yet to face more than a dozen monsters at one time, but the numbers of these pale, indistinctive congested the entire street like a wall of trembling, snowy-white flesh.

Overwhelmed by the large number of monsters blocking the way, Sora decidedly took a step back in the opposite direction. The snow crunching underneath his shoes somehow echoed over the gale-force winds like a twig snapping in a silent forest. The army of faceless monsters instantly turned in his direction; Sora could hear what sounded like snapping ice when they turned their heads. When they "saw" the spiky-haired trespassing backing away, the closest group of pale monsters broke into a run with their arms flailing all about while some monsters dropped down to all-fours like animals.

"I do not need this right now," said Sora in annoyance, drawing out Lyrical Carnation. "You guys aren't even scary! I'll just go through you like all the other monsters!"

He sounded brave at first because the faceless creatures seemed less threatening than the Tormentor or the Straightjackets, but when he took a swing at the nearest one with his laser scythe, he realized very quickly how poor his judgment was. Lyrical Carnation sliced through the pale-skinned animals as it would against any other monster, but left no visible traces of damage or any sign that it had been hurt. The spiky-haired boy took another step back when the monster lunged forward and tried to grab him, then twirled his scythe against his wrist and slashed through the monster's forearm. Again, the monster showed no signs of physical injury – it was as if Lyrical Carnation had simply passed through it.

Another pale monster reached over its brethren, grasping at the air with its spindly white fingers. Sora took another step back away from the monsters, knowing his scythe wouldn't work for some odd reason, lifted his foot and kicked the creature in the chin, causing its head to snap backwards and rest between its shoulder blades. At least he knew kicking still worked, Sora thought; that was something at least. But even after snapping its neck, the pale-skinned creature gave no pause (not that Sora thought it would), and instead twisted its entire upper body backwards – each motion sounding like crackling ice – until it's faceless head was looking at him between its legs, moving closer in a bowlegged stance.

With all the commotion that Sora was making, the spiky-haired boy wasn't too surprised that the remaining hundreds of pale-skinned ice monsters became aware of his presence and rushed at him in a unified charge. Sora shuffled backwards as the monsters started to pile on one another, forming a wall of moaning white flesh with hundreds of gangly arms squirming through the gaps. He started swinging Lyrical Carnation around in desperation, but the creatures just ignored the laser weapon as it seemed to do them no harm. It was at that point that Sora considered turning around and running back in the direction of the sanatorium when treaded around the corner, only to find out that another wall of those pale monsters were blocking his was. They had him cornered.

They pushed in closer and closer toward the scythe wielder, driving him into a corner between the theater and the apartment complex. Sora took many steps backwards away from the monster, his eyes focused solely on the pale-skinned sacks of flesh, that he failed to notice the single snow pile sitting under the frozen street lamp behind him. When the back of his shoes barely touched it, the snow pile exploded and one of the pale-skinned monsters jumped out, latching itself to him from behind. In that moment where they skin connected, Sora felt like he had suddenly been dropped into an ocean of freezing ice water buck naked in the middle of winter. He could actually feel the warmth being drained from his body like the monster was some kind of heat leech.

Sora shivered and shuddered fiercely; he could feel his body freezing over from the inside-out. Without even thinking about what he was doing, Sora suddenly reached over his shoulder, grappled the pale-skinned monster by the face, ripped it off his back, and threw it into the walking wall of flesh to topple it over.

"Oh, Oum, that was terrible," said Sora, still shuddering but now with a little bit of warmth in his chest. "Felt like I was going into shock…a Raw Shock…hey, that's not a bad name."

The newly named Raw Shocks picked themselves up off the snowy road, turning in unison toward him.

"Okay, maybe not the best time to be coming up with names," Sora said to himself.

The Raw Shocks stood up and stumbled forward and crawled on all-fours like a wild beast hunting its pray, all of them converging on the spiky-haired scythe wielder. They were smarter than the other Silent Hill monsters; they knew they had Sora pinned in a corner and greatly outnumbers, thereby reducing his chances of escaping and take their times with…whatever it was they did. Sora's back hit the wall of the apartment complex and he cursed himself for not moving closer to the door when he had the chance.

One of the Raw Shocks reached for him, but Sora slapped it away with Lyrical Carnation's rod (at least it's good for something, Sora thought irritated). Another Raw Shock reached out for his hand, but Sora hopped away in the opposite direction…right into the arms of another monster that was standing behind him. The pale-skinned monster grabbed him by the shoulder and the feeling of having ice water dumped on him tinged under his skin again. Sora lunged forward out of the monster's grip, but didn't more than a single step before several Raw Shocks latched onto his legs and waist, amplifying the chilling sensation by tenfold. He managed to punch on off his leg before the other Raw Shocks grappled both his arms and started to cling to his chest. More and more of these pale-skinned monsters piled on top of the scythe wielder until all he could see was a blob of white flesh.

Every sensation in his body was going numb, every feeling in his chest stopped, and every thought in his mind was silenced. His eyes felt heavy – he was sleepy; he wanted to fall asleep and forget all his troubles. He wanted to fall away into blissful slumber and be lost in his dreams. Yes…dreams were nice. He could see all his friends in his dreams…Sun, Penny, Velvet, Riku, Kairi, Team JNPR, and all the nice people he met would be there. He could stay there forever and not have to worry about anything. No Grimm, no villains, and no Ruby….Sora eyes snapped open, gasping in realization.

"Ruby!" yelled Sora. The cold sensation in his chest was gone, replaced by a flame of determination. "Get off of me, you…things! I have to save Ruby!" He struggled in the Raw Shock's grip, but they wouldn't release. "I said: LET – ME – GO!"

Echoes of crackling ice filled Sora's ears as he pulled forward with all his strength and realized that the Raw Shocks were steadily becoming weaker. With one last grunt of effort, Sora pushed forward and all the Raw Shocks shattered like glass; nothing but bits of crystal dust to be blown away by the winter winds. Sora leaned forwards, leaning on his knees to support himself as he took in several deep breaths. That was almost too close, Sora thought drearily. Silent Hill was definitely pulling out all the stops this time around, meaning that Sora must be close to the final truth this mysterious town wanted him to find. But the question remained….

"Where am I supposed to go now?" Sora asked no one.

As if the supernatural town were responding to his question, the lights of the Artaud Theater to his right flashed on, illuminating the bleak and gray street with a splash of color. Sora winced at the sudden brightness; his eyes were still not adjusted from his fight with the Shadow Beast. When his vision started to clear, his eyes trailed up to the marquee and read the titles printed out in big, bold letters:

 **NOW SHOWING:  
THE TRAGIC TALE OF RUBY ROSE**

"Wow, this town isn't discreet at all,"said Sora, raising a brow at the sign. "Well, I guess it's better than wandering around trying to figure out where to go next."

The spiky-haired boy casually walked up to the wooden doors and grasped the bronze handles, but he hesitated for a moment. Sora looked over his shoulders, checking to see if there wasn't some monster hiding amid the snow waiting to jump out at him when his back was turned. Silent Hill was unresponsive. The mysterious town had tried so desperately to keep him from reaching this point, even using an army of unkillable Raw Shocks to freeze him into place. This must have been Silent Hill's way of saying he was ready…but ready for what was the question.

Sora took a deep breath, threw open the door, and stepped inside.

* * *

Sora took two steps inside the theater and stopped in the middle of the lobby, his eyes going wide and his mouth unconsciously falling open with surprise. Everywhere Sora had been since arriving in Silent Hill, there was always some supernatural force at work whether it was hospitals turning into smelting chambers of sanatoriums being drowned in pitch black. But Artaud Theater seemed…normal. It was a perfectly normal theater lobby in pristine condition: clean walls with properly hanging pictures of certain plays, a recently vacuumed carpet free of any markings, stairs leading to the second floor with newly polished banisters and interior was surprisingly well-lit. It was the first time that anything in Silent Hill seemed remotely safe, for which Sora was extremely grateful for.

But the biggest surprised beyond the normalcy of everything was the people that were wandering the lobby; dozens of men, women, and even a few Faunus all together moving around and making tons of noises. Most people Sora didn't recognize like the dark-skinned, blonde Asian girl scolding a green-haired girl in a hoodie holding a board under her arm, the dapper musician playing the trumpet in the corner, or the blue-haired boy with goggles trying to flirt with a pair of twins (said twins promptly slapped him and walked away). But there were some people he did know, like Roman Torchwick and Neo lining up at the concession stand, tapping their fete impatiently, Velvet blushing and giggling over something a stylish girl in sunglasses said, and Penny and Sun playing tug-of-war with a girl that looked like Sun's wife, Ceil.

It was strange, really, that even though Sora had never met any of the people here, he somehow recognized their faces and knew their names by heart.

"Twenty lien for a tub of gummi animals!" roared Adam Taurus. "This is completely outrageous! It's clear discrimination against gummi lovers! I'm going to start a revolution and destroy the establishment!"

"Uh-huh, sure, whatever you say," said James Ironwood, rolling his eyes. "If you're not gonna buy anything, then get out of the line. There are other customers, you know."

"Qrow, don't tell me you're drunk again today," said Winter Schnee disapprovingly with her hands on her hips.

"Of course I'm not drunk today," said Qrow Branwen, falling back over a bench. "I was drunk yesterday. Now I'm just riding out a hangover."

"My nefarious plans are finally coming together," said Cinder Fall in an overly dramatic voice. "Now all we have to do is make sure nobody realizes who we are."

"Then maybe we shouldn't be announcing our evil plans in the middle of a crowd," said Emerald Sustrai.

"Ah, I see you have arrived," said a friendly voice in front of Sora. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sora."

The scythe-wielder faced forward again just as an older gentleman walked through the parted crowd and approached him with a long, embellished cane. The man was tall as he was thin with tousled silver hair that made him seem old despite his face resembling close to that of a middle-aged man. Dressed in a crisp, green suit and peering over a pair of green-shaded spectacles, he gave the air of someone with great wisdom and authority (he kind reminded Sora of his old school principle). He carried with him a mug of something steaming-hot and handed it off to Sora without a word. Sora staring into the warm, chocolaty brown drink then turned up his head to the elderly strange with an inquisitive look.

"Don't worry, it's just hot chocolate," said the older gentleman with a kindly smile, like he was talking to his favorite grandson. "You must be dreadfully cold after your ordeal outside. Please, drink as much as you like. It always warms me up on cold nights such as these."

"Thanks," Sora mumbled before taking a sip. The moment the warm chocolate touched his lips, it felt like his whole body was being wrapped in a warm, snuggly blanket, banishing the cold. "Wow, that's good chocolate."

"Yes, I'm quite fond of it myself," said the elderly gentleman, drinking from his own mug that he seemed to pull out of thin air. After a quick sip, he brought his mug down and asked, "Do you know who I am, Sora?"

"You're professor Ozpin," Sora answered almost immediately; the word that came from his mouth did not sound like his own. "You were the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. You were one of the secret guardians of Remnant that helped Ruby and the others…. But I don't know why I know that. I've never even heard of you before, but I feel like I've met you before."

"Yes, it is quite strange, isn't it?" said Ozpin in amusement. "Then again, Silent Hill is known for being very peculiar about its methods. I was hoping I could get a quick word with you before you moved on, Sora."

"I'd like to, but I can't," said Sora. "I have to find Riku and Ruby."

"You will have plenty of time to search for them afterwards," said Ozpin. "The concept of time means something entirely different in Silent Hill. Sometimes it moves forward, sometimes it moves back, sometimes it slows in the mornings, sometimes it speeds up in the night, and sometimes it loops back and forth without ever realizing it. Time is a complicated subject, perhaps too complicated to explain at this moment at your age, but at the moment let's just say that time has simply stopped for now. Until you leave this room, everything will remain frozen in place, waiting for you. So this presents a great opportunity to explain everything as best I can."

"If you say so," said Sora. He's given up trying to understand this town and decidedly just to go with the flow. "So where are we anyway?"

"That is a good question," said Ozpin, smiling cryptically. "Where do you think we are?"

"Well, it looks like a theater lobby," said Sora, humming thoughtfully. "But that's not what it really is. If I learned anything in Silent Hill, it's that everything has a hidden meaning behind it. So…there're a lot of people here – most of them I've never seen or heard of before – but I get the strangest feeling that I know them from somewhere. It's something in the back of my mind, just out of reach…it's like…a memory? These people…they're memories, aren't they?"

"Very perceptive, Sora," said Ozpin praising. "Yes, every person in this lobby is a part of a memory. A manifestation of the various encounters from the past, but apparently seen from a more –" He peered over at side tables where Yatsuhashi Daicihi just got his butt handed to him by Neon Katt in arm wrestling " – light-hearted point of view. However, the memories in this room do not belong to you, do they?"

"They belong to Ruby," said Sora knowingly. "I've been thinking about it ever since Ruby explained how the town worked. Silent Hill is supposed to manifest monsters and places that represent some dark, repressed feeling in a person's heart and force them to face up to what they've done or else they can't leave. But all the monsters that I've fought so far…they don't have anything to do with me."

"Do explain," Ozpin urged, taking another sip.

"At the hospital," Sora continued. "That girl in the bed...I know it was Yang. She was yelling at me for abandoning my friends, but I never felt like I had left Riku and Kairi behind because I know what happened on the island and everything that happened after that wasn't my fault. I never blamed myself for us getting separated. And that girl at the sanatorium – Blake – she was hurting herself because she felt like she deserved it for hurting her loved ones. But I know I would never do anything to hurt Riku and Kairi, so I don't have a reason to hurt myself. And I know none of these monsters could represent Riku because he didn't show up in town until after the hospital."

"So the only logical conclusion is that Silent Hill is manifesting Ruby Rose's anxieties," said Ozpin.

"It's the only thing that fits, but some parts don't make sense," said Sora with a furrowed brow. "Like how Riku and I ended up here when Ruby's the one Silent Hill wants. And if his town wants her o badly, why do they keep sending the monsters after us, but she can't see or hear them? And why is she so young in the first place – I thought Ruby was supposed to be older than me. And – "

"I see you have a very inquiring mind, Sora," Ozpin interrupted, patting the young boy's head appreciatively. "And while there is nothing wrong with being curious, we must also learn that there is thin line between what we can know, and what we need to know. For now, I can explain a few things to you that may help you, but there are certain questions that you must figure out for yourself. So, where would you like to start first?"

"Well…I guess I'd like to know more about this world," said Sora after a moment of thought. "I want to be able to understand Ruby better. She can't leave Silent Hill unless she moves on from her problems, right? I think I already helped her with some of them."

"Indeed, you did," Ozpin nodded. "As you already know, every creature in this world represents a different part of Ruby's fears and anxieties. The hound you met on the street when you first arrived represented the Grimm, an enemy that has caused her much pain throughout her life. Those Tormentors, as you called them, represented her internal pain that she has kept bottled up inside her heart. Those Straightjacket monsters represented her feelings of helplessness and her fear of being unable to help anyone. Now knowing this, what do you thing Miss Xiao-Long and Miss Belladonna represented?"

"Well, at first I thought they were supposed to symbolize Team RWBY," said Sora. "But now that I think about it, maybe they represent Ruby's feelings. Yang only talked about being abandoned…. Maybe Yang represented Ruby's failure to protect the people she cared about. And Blake liked to cut herself…so maybe that means Ruby's trying to punish herself; she feels like she deserves to be hurt because everyone else was."

"Hmm, maybe you should consider a career in psychology if being a Huntsman doesn't work out," Ozpin said jokingly.

"But that just leaves Weiss," said Sora. "She's the only one I haven't met and probably who I'm going to have to go up against, right?"

"That would appear to be the case," said Ozpin, taking another sip of hot chocolate. "Miss Rose and Miss Schnee have always had a complicated relationship from start to finish. They didn't always see eye-to-eye, but their feelings for each other were always know, even if they didn't realize it themselves at first. Those feelings grew as they did, and became something worth protecting. And that's what you will be facing, Sora."

"Uh…I'm gonna need more than that," said Sora, scratching his head.

"Miss Rose has had a long and difficult history filled with betrayal and tragedy," said Ozpin. "The child that you have been traveling with represents the last shred of innocence Miss Rose has left. It is why she has not encountered the monsters you have, because Silent Hill has no effect of the pure hearted. Little miss Rose lives in her own fantasy where nothing bad happens and where all her friends are safe and happy, but this is just a lie conjured up by Silent Hill. It is what keeps Miss Rose trapped in this town, unable to move on. Those monsters you encountered outside represented Miss Rose's unconscious desire to repress all the bad memories and allow her to continue living carefree in her fantasy world."

"And Weiss is going to try to keep me from bring Ruby back to reality," Sora concluded.

"Miss Rose and Miss Schnee's bond is nigh unbreakable," said Ozpin. "It's only natural that they would want to protect each other from the terrible things in the outside world. But Miss Rose must learn to face reality eventually. If she is ever to move forward in life, she must cast off her innocence and face her troubles in the real world. It may seem cruel to tear someone away from their happiness, but would you consider a life of blissful ignorance truly living?"

Sora didn't know what to say in response to the statement. He wanted to help Ruby move on – it was part of the reason why he was traveling the worlds in the first place – but did he have the right to tear down her happiness? In this world, Ruby could just spend her life fear with everyone she loved, always smiling and laughing. It seemed harsh to take it all away….But if he didn't help her now, then she would never be able to face what had happened, and never be allowed to leave this town. She would never be able to see her friends and family in the real world…Team JNPR, Taiyang, Velvet, Sun, Penny….Yang, Blake, Weiss….

A loud buzzing noise broke Sora out of his stupor. He looked around in a momentary panic before noticing that everyone in the lobby had stopped what they were doing and turned in unison towards the doors leading to the main theater. Everyone started to either clean up or put their stuff away (or in Qrow's case, just trying to stand without tipping over) and when they were finished, they all started to walk together in groups through the doors, talking in excited voices. Within a couple minutes, the doors slammed shut and the only people left in the lobby were Sora and Ozpin.

"Well, it looks like the show is about to start," said Ozpin, still speaking with some sense of amusement. "Are you ready to go inside?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," mumbled Sora. He downed the last of the hot chocolate and handed the mug back to Ozpin with a quiet thanks. As he approached the double doors and grasped the handles, he looked over his shoulder one last time and asked: "Hey...Can I ask one more question?"

"You already did," said Ozpin, laughing at his little joke. "But you are free to ask another."

"I was just wonder…why me?" asked Sora. "Why did I get Crescent Rose? What makes me so special?"

"Alas, that is a question I'm afraid I cannot answer," Ozpin said with mirth. "I suppose you'll just have to figure that one out on your own."

Then what was the point of asking, Sora thought begrudgingly. Shaking his head at the former headmaster's lighthearted gestures, Sora pulled the doors open wide and was once against consumed in a veil of light….

* * *

Once again in the memory of that day nine years ago, Sora arrived where the last flashback has left on, at the moment with the blonde woman with the metal arm turned around. Little Riku pulled his fists up defensively, thinking he might stand a chance at fighting a stranger twice as big and four times more muscular than him. But when the woman turned completely and his aqua-blue eyes met were her burning-red ones, he visibly relaxed in recognition of the woman. When she saw him standing there, she looked surprised to see him, but then broke out in a toothy grin and waved.

"Riku, is that you?" said Yang Xiao-Long light-heartedly. She approached him, kneeled down to his level, and ruffled his hair teasingly. "Wow, look how big you've grown. I remember when you used to be two inches shorter. Do you remember?"

"You're Yang, right?" asked Riku in awe. "You finally came back. I waited a whole year for you."

"Sorry about that, kid, but I've been pretty busy," said Yang apologetically, running a hair through her wild mane. "Things have gotten a little…messy back home, so I haven't had much time to come visit."

"Does this mean you're finally gonna train me like you promised?" asked Riku eagerly. "You're gonna teach me how to be a Huntsmen and go exploring other world, right? That's why you came back, isn't it?"

"Actually…I came back to tell you that I won't be back for a while," said Yang awkwardly. "Things have gotten pretty bad back home and I need to focus all my attention on them. Hey, don't make that look – " she said in response to Riku obvious disappointment. " – It's not that I don't wanna take you with me, kid; there are tons of cool places I wanted to show ya and awesome moves I wanted to teach. But right now, my world is going through some difficult times and my friends have gone missing. I need to devote all my time to helping them. You understand, right?"

"I guess," Riku mumbled, still sounding upset. "If it were Sora, I guess I'd be worried, too. He's my best friend."

"I knew you'd understand," said Yang with a small smile. "I promise I'll come back for you one day and teach you how to be a real Huntsman because I know you have the potential to be one of the greatest. But in the meantime, maybe you should practice we these – " She reached behind her back and pulled out a pair of black bracelets with blue diamonds and bat sigils – it was the shotgun gauntlets present-day Riku wore – "I call these babies Hellfire Celica. I based them off the design of my Ember Celica. They might be a little big for you now, but I'm sure you'll grow into them."

"Whoa…," Riku said in awe as he took them shotgun gauntlets with eyes wide in wonderment.

"Hey, Riku," said Yang gently, patting his head kindly. "I want you to promise me something."

"Huh?" asked Riku quizzically.

"I know you're destined for great things, but I want you to remember something," said Yang. "Things are gonna get difficult as you grow up and they won't always be the same as they were before. You're going to get hurt – a lot – but I want you to remember something. Always remember, no matter what happens, you never forget about the people you care about. Being a Huntsman isn't just about fighting monsters, but remembering why it is we fight. For me, I fight for my sister, my wife, my home…and maybe Weiss, if I feel like it. Promise me, that no matter what happens, you never forget the people you fight for."

"I promise," said Riku seriously.

* * *

The memories of that day – and the secrets that Riku had been keeping from him all these years – passed from his vision and returned Sora to Silent Hill. Sora had suspected who the person might have been after the last memory, but it wasn't until now that he had confirmation. Yang Xiao-Long had been on the Destiny Islands, twice at least since Riku and Yang had met at least once before the memory. But the most important part that Sora took away was the timing. That memory had taken place nine years ago – one year after Team RWBY's disappearance. That could only mean that not only was Yang alive, but she was wandering the world just like Sora and his friends. Sora felt some relief in his chest – at least he could tell everyone that at least one of Team RWBY's members were safe.

Sora lifted his head and started looking around at the new environment that Silent Hill had established for the next battleground, immediately taking notice of the chilly atmosphere and the puffs of white coming from his breath. Unlike the boiler room at Alchemilla Hospital of the padded cell at Cedar Grove Sanatorium, the theater was very bright, almost blinding in fact. Everything from the seats, to the balconies, and to the stage were all kept perfectly preserved as if untouched by Silent Hill's destruction, but everything was covered over by thick layers of glittering white ice. The entire theater looked like it had been cleanly cut from a block of ice by a master sculptor. When Sora took his first step into the theater, he nearly slipped because he failed to realize that the floor was also covered in ice and threw out his arms to balance himself. Sora breathed in relief and raised his head toward the stage.

Unsurprisingly, he saw Riku standing on the stage looking over little Ruby Rose, who was sitting on a throne made of ice, head lolling like she was asleep. Sora glared at the back of his best friends head and leaned forward, skating across the floor with surprising ease, which was really weird since he never ice skated in his life.

"Let Ruby go, Riku!" shouted Sora, skidding to a halt at the front row. Riku didn't turn around and continued staring at Ruby like he hadn't heard a thing. Annoyed, Sora whipped out Lyrical Carnation and pointed it to Riku in emphasis. "I'm not gonna say it again. Let Ruby go right now or else."

"You saw it, didn't you?" said Riku softly. "The memory?"

"The one about you and Yang?" said Sora slowly, but did not lower his scythe. "Yeah, I saw it."

"I never forgot about that day," said Riku. "I waited nine years for her to come back and take me away from that island. I practiced hard every day, learning more about Hellfire Celica and aura while you were off playing make believe. I was ten years old when I first found my semblance and I thought that was when she would finally come back like she promised. But she didn't. I waited nine years for her, and she never showed up. She lied to me. That's why I wanted to get off the island so badly that I was desperate enough to try and build a raft – it was a pretty stupid idea now that I think about it," he added with a sarcastic chuckle.

"I'm sure she was busy," said Sora.

"That's just like you to defend someone you never met before," Riku scoffed as he turned to face him. "Always taking sides with everyone except for your best friend."

"I'm not taking anyone's side, Riku," said Sora firmly. "Listen, we can still talk this out. Just let Ruby go so we can get out of here."

"You still don't get it, do you," said Riku. "Taking this girl to Zeref will bring us one step closer to saving Kairi. So how about it, Sora? Let's join forces and save her. We can do it together.

 _ **BANG!**_

Riku eyes went wide in shock as a red ball of energy brushed past his left shoulder, singeing the edges of his hair, and made a black spot in the frozen scenery behind him. Sora glared up at his supposed best friend, four more balls of energy hovering in a circle around Lyrical Carnation's head, and his finger pressing lightly against the trigger. Riku gritted his teeth.

"What?" said Riku, anger tinging his voice. "You'd rather fight me? Over some little girl? Do you realize that she could help save Kairi?"

"And what would happen to Ruby, huh?" questioned Sora. Riku stayed silent, glaring at his former best friend. "Riku, I wanna save Kairi just as badly as you do, but if it means hurting other people, then it's just not worth it. Do you think Kairi would be happy knowing what you were doing? I'm sorry, Riku, but you're on the wrong side of this fight. Hand over Ruby now or I will fight you."

"Then you leave me no choice," growled Riku.

Sora twirled his scythe back and lowered into a crouched stance as Riku took his first steps towards his former best friend, activating his Hellfire Celica. But before the silver-haired boy could reach the edge of the stage, a white symbol shaped like a snowflake suddenly appeared underneath his feet, launched him into the air, hitting the ceiling, and came crashing down into the frozen seats that smashed under his weight. Riku groaned on the floor, unmoving. Sora almost ran to him, but the same snowflake glyph appeared underneath his feet and immediately jumped back before a stalagmite of ice formed where he once stood. Eight more similar spells appeared in places where Sora jumped and the spiky-haired boy managed to avoid them all by leaping across the aisles, using the backs of the seats as stepping stones. The attacks only stopped when Sora reached the floor just below the stage where he looked up to Ruby and realized that she wasn't alone on stage.

A woman with snowy-white hair tied in a crooked ponytail was kneeling next to the unconscious child, caressing her cheeks with such tenderness that would typically be reserved for a lover. She muttered soft words in her ears and little Ruby Rose seemed to visibly relax, curling up in a ball using her hands as a pillow, mumbling sleepily. The white-haired woman produced a red cloth from seemingly nowhere, draped it over the child, and tucked her in securely. While the white-haired woman nursed the sleeping child, Sora bounced up on stage, nearly slipping on the ice that covered the stage floor. The white-haired woman frozen in place and Sora did the same….Neither one moved for the longest time, waiting to see what the other would do first.

Sora was the first to speak:

"You're her, aren't you?" asked Sora. "You're Weiss, right? Or at least some manifestation of her."

"That is correct," said the Weiss Manifestation. "Ozpin already told you everything, so there's no point in explaining, is there?"

"You're trying to keep Ruby trapped here," said Sora, subtly sliding his foot forward. "I get why you're trying to do it, but you have to let her go. She needs to go back into the real world."

"And why does she _**need**_ to?" questioned the Weiss Manifestation. "She's much happier here. In this world, nothing bad can happen to her. She can live her life in peace surrounded by her friends and family without ever having a single worry. In this world, nothing bad can hurt her. The outside world is full of pain, cruelty, and betrayal. As long as she stays here, she will never have to worry about the monsters, because I will always protect her from them, forever and ever."

"We all wanna stop hurting," said Sora. "But that doesn't mean we can ignore it. If we don't face up to reality, how are we ever gonna move on with our lives."

"Don't talk like you know anything," sneered the Weiss Manifestation, rising to her feet. "What would you know about pain or tragedy? You, a boy from a small, peaceful island with surrounded by good friends and a loving family where you spent your entire life carefree every day on the beach. You never had to work hard for anything. You never had to sit alone at night wondering when you mother was coming back, only to find out that she had been taken away from you. You never had to watch as everything you fought for, everything you believed in, was torn down around you. You never had to watch the people you love _**DIE**_ in front of you and feel the sense of helplessness as you watch them turn to dust! Don't you dare try to pretend that you understand anything about how she feels! Everything she suffered!"

"Yeah, I don't understand," Sora admitted. "It's like you said, I had the perfect life. And yeah, I did lose a lot when my home was taken by the Grimm, but it's nothing compared to the pain that Ruby's been through – " He cast a sorrowful gaze to the sleeping child. "But trying to hide from reality isn't going to magically make things better."

"They are better because I make them better," growled the Weiss Manifestation. "She with me and she's happy."

"But it's not real happiness, it's just a lie," countered Sora.

"I can make it real!" snapped the Weiss Manifestation.

"No, you can't!" yelled Sora. "It doesn't matter how hard you try to deny it. What happened happened, and there's no power in the universe that can change it. Closing her off from reality isn't going to bring her mom back, and it's not gonna restore her world to what it used to be. Fake happiness can't substitute real happiness. I know that Yang is still alive somewhere, which means Blake and the real Weiss are still out there too. Ruby has to find them if she ever wants to be truly happy, but she can't do that unless she accepts the pain and moves on."

"That will never happen," the Weiss Manifestation growled. "I will be the one that will keep her happy. I'll make sure that nothing ever hurts her again. And if you insist on getting in the way – " her voice suddenly echoed and sounded ethereal " – I'll just make sure that you can never leave either!"

The lobby doors suddenly burst behind them and a furious blew into the theater. Sora raised his arm in front of his face to shield himself from the unexplainable blizzard (as if anything in Silent Hill could be explained) when he turned his attention back to the Weiss Manifestation. The white haired woman held her arms out wide and accepted the snow as it pelted her repeatedly, never moving or flinching. A chorus of crackling noises rang from the stage as the ice started to rise underneath the white-haired woman's feet, climb up the length of her body, and completely consumed her in thick frost. The ice continued to expand higher and started to take on humanoid features until the byproduct towered over Sora.

Sora tilted his head back to get a better look at Silent Hill's finally guardian, which was very difficult with the indoor blizzard still raging. Unlike the last two guardians, the monster was made purely of shiny, reflective ice shaped like a young adult woman with a mostly blank face possessing a pair of oval-shaped white eyes and a head of hair made from pure-white snow. The frozen giant wore an elegant gown made from different colored ice that was painstakingly detailed with small snowflakes around the hem, a regal-like coat made from movable snow powder, and her neck was adorn with crystal-like jewelry. The ice monster's head was topped with an elegant crowd with the symbol of a rose edged into the front. The towering titan of ice raised one of its frozen hands, closed its icy finger around the air, and a blast of cool air escaped her clenched fist before solidifying into a thin sword with a sharp point – a rapier, Weiss's signature weapon, if Sora recalled correctly.

The Ice Queen swiped it weapon across the air, creating a powerful gale of wind. Sora couldn't ground himself with the slippery ice underneath his feet, was blown backwards on his back, and slid across the surface of the floor straight towards the lobby door. Before the spiky-haired boy could reach the doors, they suddenly slammed shut and Sora hit the icy wall with the back of his head. His hands immediately went to the area where the swelling was no doubt forming, biting his tongue to keep himself from crying. He glared back up at the stage where the Ice Queen remained hovering in place, serving as a barrier between him and Ruby.

"We gotta get Ruby out of here quick," said Sora, cautiously standing up trying not to slip. "Riku, can you – " But when he looked over to his former best friend, he barely caught a glimpse of the black wisps during his escape. "I can't believe you ditched me!"

" _ **You see now, boy?**_ " The Ice Queen spoke in an echoing ethereal voice. " _ **That is the true face of reality: nothing but constant lies and betrayal. Do you still believe it would be better for her to leave the one place where she is happy?**_ "

"It's better than leaving her trapped in a lie," said Sora, taking a stance with Lyrical Carnation.

" _ **But she's happy!**_ " roared the Ice Queen, raising her blade. " _ **What does it matter if it's not real?!**_ "

The Ice Queen slashed her blade down, touching the floor with the rapier tip, and a line of jagged ice crystal jutted out towards Sora. With the ground too slippery to run properly, Sora aimed the head of Lyrical Carnation, fired of one of the rounds, and slid sideways across the back of the theater before the crystals slammed into the doorway. He then stabbed Lyrical Carnation's laser blade into the ground, melting through the ice with a soft _hiss_ while at the same time stopping his momentum. Sora pointed the laser scythe's head behind him using the same method to propel himself towards the stage, but the Ice Queen waved her hands across the air and conjured up a series of crystal spikes that she threw at the spiky-haired boy. Sora's lightning fast reflexes (and semblance) easily allowed him to slice his scythe through each individual crystal, leaving behind a cloud of powder in his wake.

Sora jumped as high as he could manage once he reached the edge of the stage, bringing him on level with the Ice Queen's face. He swiped Lyrical Carnation across the air, intended to gouge the frosted woman's left eye out, but the Ice Queen proved remarkably fast `despite her size as she blocked the attack with her rapier. The pair struggled briefly, but the Ice Queen had greater support on her side and pushed Sora away. While he was still hovering in midair, the Ice Queen brought her free hand around and slapped it down on top of his head with all her strength. The scythe-wielder crashed into the first row of seat and rammed through many rows behind until he stopped halfway up the theater. Sora sat up quickly and picked out the crystal shards that had gotten into his hair; his aura shield managed to absorb most of the damage.

" _ **What is the point of this struggling?**_ " asked the Ice Queen, pointing her blade to at Sora. " _ **Why can't you just accept the world as she has? Don't you see life is so much better for her here? She never gets hurt, she can see the people she loves every day, and she never has to remember all those horrible memories that ruined her life. It perfect…why can't you just leave her be?**_ "

"I can't leave," said Sora. "Not yet."

" _ **If this is about leaving the town, you are more than welcome to go,**_ " said the Ice Queen. " _ **You were never meant to be in Silent Hill in the first place. There is nothing holding you here. You can just…walk away and never look back. You can leave us in peace.**_ "

"If I did that, then I know I would never be able to forgive myself," said Sora seriously. "I'm not leaving unless Ruby comes with me."

" _ **Why? What do you get out of this?**_ " questioned the Ice Queen furiously.

"Nothing," said Sora simply. "But Ruby has friends waiting for her in the real world. That's the only reason I need to save her."

The Ice Queen was dissatisfied with his answer. She raised her rapier high above her head and waved it around in a circular motion; a misty-white vapor wafted from the tip of the blade. When the Ice Queen pointed her rapier forward, the white vapor exploded and a medium-sized Nevermore with white plumage and glossy-blue eyes took shape in the air and dived toward Sora. He wasn't about to question how the Ice Queen was able to summon a Grimm (It's pretty cool though, Sora admitted to himself), but crouched low to the floor while he curved his scythe around his back. And when the moment came where the white Nevermore swooped down with its beak open to swallow him whole, Sora jumped high over the monster's head and landed on the white Grimm's neck. It was very much like riding a horse, except Sora never rode a horse before, let alone a giant bird monster.

The white Nevermore tried to buck the scythe-wielder off, but Sora grabbed a handful of the Nevermore's feathers and held on tightly when the beast started doing barrel rolls. After three rotations and the spiky-haired human still wouldn't let go, the white Nevermore curved in the air and flew straight towards the nearest wall. Sora leapt off the Nevermore's back moments before it slammed headfirst into the frozen wall and exploded into a cloud of white powder.

Sora almost glided across the theater until he touched down on the railing of the balcony overlooking the theater stage, standing on level with the Ice Queen's eyes. The frozen guardian turned her head slowly toward the scythe-wielding island boy, staring him down for a long minute, and then jabbed her rapier into the balcony faster than one person could blink. The overseeing balcony was ripped apart, pieces of the frozen structure smashing on the floor like glass, and a puff of white powder clouded the area from view. The Ice Queen leered into the white cloud, not at all convinced that she could have defeated him so easily. And proving her correct, Sora bounded out of the cloud, landed on the flat edge of the Ice Queen's blade, and ran down the rapier and started climbing the guardian's arm up to its shoulder. The Ice Queen reached around with its free hand, but Sora did a quick spin and sliced the guardian's fingers off.

Sora reached the top of the Ice Queen's shoulder and paused for a moment, staring down the regal monster in its chilling white eyes. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that the Ice Queen was tilting its rapier backward in its hand, full intending to stab itself in the shoulder if it meant knocking him off. But Sora wasn't around to give her that opportunity. Thankfully the Ice Queen's snowy coat provided Sora with better footing as he grounded himself before he activated his semblance and dashed across the guardian's collar. Lyrical Carnation's laser blade cut through the Ice Queen's neckline so cleanly that the frozen monster's head slid smoothly off its shoulders and smashed down on the floor at its feet.

Sora jumped off the Ice Queen's other shoulder, landed safely on the theater stage without slipping, and leaned forward against his scythe with a sigh of relief. That fight was a little more difficult the Fire Dragon in Alchemilla Hospital, but less difficult than the Shadow Beast at the sanatorium. Strange really, Sora thought. He was expecting Silent Hill's last guardian to be a lot more difficult. Nevertheless, he took the Ice Queen down without too much difficulty….So why wasn't the theater fading out of sight?

Sora heard the familiar sound of crackling ice, his eyes going wide, and spun around just in time to see the Ice Queen's rapier swinging around. The saber's edge stabbed Sora squarely, but his aura thankfully managed to absorb the piecing blow. The scythe-wielder picked up by the saber's point and tossed back into the stands where he smashed into two rows of three seats, crushing them into tiny bits of ice. Sora groaned and held his throbbing head; he attack might not have killed him, but it did leave him with a splitting headache.

Sora turned his attention back to the stage and felt a sense of dread wash over him as he watched the ice starting to rise from the Ice Queen's neck, slowly taking shape until the guardian's head was completely reformed, looking like it had ever been touched.

"You've got to be kidding me," groaned Sora. "Don't tell me she immortal too."

"It would appear that way."

"Sora nearly jumped out of his clothes at the sudden response. He held a hand to his rapidly beating heart and craned his head to the right, surprised to see Professor Ozpin sitting in the seat directly next to him, drinking casually from his mug.

"Professor Ozpin?" Sora said curiously "What are you doing here."

"Oh, I'm not really here, but I'm certain I don't need to explain that to you," said Ozpin calmly. "Don't worry, you're not going crazy or anything like that. I'm just a small shred of Miss Rose's conscious mind making an effort to support you in the form of a guiding figure that she trusts and respects. In this case, that would be her old school teacher."

"So Ruby's actually fighting back?" asked Sora, sounding surprised.

"In some small part of her mind, yes," said Ozpin, taking another sip. "Miss Rose desires to be happy and for others to be happy, but she is mature and wise enough to know that wishful thinking isn't enough to create true happiness. Unfortunately, I cannot aid you in battle due to Silent Hill's strong influence over this place, but I can offer you a piece of advice that may prove useful."

"Right now, anything would be good," said Sora, looking up at the imposing figure of the Ice Queen. "So how do I destroy an enemy that regenerates itself from my attacks?"

"You don't," said Ozpin simply. Sora stared at the elderly man like he had grown two heads. "Think clearly for a moment, Sora. Remember what Miss Schnee represents in the world. She is the barrier that stands between Miss Rose's dream world and the cruel reality in the real world. Naturally, such a creature would be too powerful to defeat alone. But we all have to grow up eventually. We can't remain children forever, locked away in our own fantasy world. Sometimes…we must be willing to shed off our innocence to take that first step forward."

That was when the answered clicked in Sora's head; the answer seemed so obvious when Ozpin explained it. Sora's eyes rolled over the Ice Guardian that stood with its rapier poised to strike before they fell on the sleeping little girl on the throne of ice. Deep down, he knew what he was about to do was wrong and he would hate himself for it, but it was time Ruby faced reality and he would drag her kicking and screaming if he had to. Sora turned to say thanks to Ozpin, but the elderly man had vanished, leaving behind only his cane and a steaming cup of hot chocolate on the seat.

The Ice Queen waved her hand through the air and summoned another storm of ice spears that she threw at the scythe-wielding islander. Sora sliced through the flying icicles, Lyrical Carnation's laser blade swiping through the air in a blur of red light, then leaned forward and skated his way back up to the stage with a determined look in his eyes. As the spiky-haired boy approached the platform, the Ice Queen promptly stabbed her rapier directly on top of him and smashed the floor into jutted fragments of ice. But in spite of her best attempts to detour him, Sora jumped out of the debris unharmed. The spiky-haired boy flipped Lyrical Carnation in his hand and held the staff like he were holding a spear – the scythe head clicked and turned so that the laser blade was pointing straight. For a moment, the Ice Queen seemed to believe he was going to throw the scythe directly at her, which would have been a very foolish endeavor. But when she followed the path of the blade's tip and realized what its true target was, the Ice Queen cried out:

" _ **NO!**_ "

Sora threw Lyrical Carnation with all his strength. The Ice Queen stretched out her hand trying to catch the weapon before it could reach, but the laser scythe sliced through the guardian's finger easily without diverting from its path. And, with a loud hiss and the smell of burning flesh filling the theater, Lyrical Carnation stabbed through Ruby Rose's chest.

The little girl's eyes flew open and her mouth let out a horrified gasp as she felt the heat cutting through her skin and piercing her heart. Time seemed to freeze in that one moment…then Ruby's small eyes began to glow and the light exploded in every direction, consuming everything in Silent Hill until all was washed away in white….

* * *

Sora felt…weightless…as if he was there, but also not at the same time. Was this what it felt like to be dead….No, he knew he wasn't dead. This was something else. This was someone else.

His eyes slowly fluttered open and cringed at the blinding white light that filled his vision, taking a long moment before his pupils could adjust to the brightness. Sora was floating in an empty void of nothingness; only long stretches of white as far as the eye could see; Sora started to consider that he might be dead after all. While he tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened, he nearly missed noticing that he wasn't alone in here.

Standing (floating?) not too far away from him was a tall figure dressed in a flowing red cloak with a hood thrown over their face, concealing their hair and eyes. The only two occupants in the void only stared at each other in complete silence…then the woman's arms came out from underneath the cloak and grasped the edges of her hood, pulling it down. Sora stared into the face of a young, pale-skinned woman with short black-reddish hair and soft, shimmering silver eyes. The woman tilted her head and smiled softly. That was how Sora knew who this person was: she was the REAL Ruby Rose.

"Hello, Sora," Ruby spoke in a soft voice. "I'm glad I got the chance to finally meet you, though I wished it could have been under better circumstances. Thank you for rescuing me again."

"Again?" Sora repeated in confusion. "Have I saved you before?"

"It's a little hard to explain, but you have helped me more than you realize," Ruby answered, but not going into further detail. "Ever since you were a little boy, I always sensed that you had something special about you. I could tell that you were destined for great things, but I was hoping you would be a little older before you got dragged into our war. I know from personal experience what it's like to be forced to face the cruelty of the real world at such a young age. You try to cling to hope and try to see the best in everyone, but it gets more difficult everyday not to just give up and let the world destroy itself. You start to realize that you're fighting a battle you just can't win and start to lose heart….I'll admit that I considered just quitting…but then I met you and Riku, and I knew there was still one more reason to keep fighting."

"So Yang gave Riku his weapon," said Sora. "Does that mean you're the one who gave me Crescent Rose?"

"I'm in no position to do anything," Ruby admitted. "But that was always the plan. Should anything ever happen to me, Crescent Rose was meant to find its way to you. That's why I left you with my necklace, so that whoever had Crescent Rose would know where to send it to."

"Really?" said Sora as his brows disappeared into his hair. He held up his silver rose necklace and looked it over. "Oh yeah, it happened ten years ago. You showed up on the islands and gave me this. I'd completely forgotten about that."

"Well, nice to know I made such a strong impact on you," said Ruby, pouting.

"Sorry, sorry," Sora apologized, chuckling nervously. "But…I was wondering something. If you've been trapped in Silent Hill this whole time…then who was the person I met on Yamatai?"

"That's another story, not one I'm happy to relive" said Ruby, frowning. "But after everything you've been through, I suppose you deserve some answers. You see, about ten years ago, my team and I fought some very bad people and it ended terribly for everyone. One of the people I was fighting tried to steal my soul, but I fought back and we both ended up damaging each other's souls. My soul was broken off into three pieces – one of them stayed with my body while another piece ended up going far away. But the third piece caused a lot more trouble than expected. Somehow, a piece of my soul got transferred over to that Fake Ruby you met on the island."

"So the person on Yamatai _wasn't_ really you," said Sora in realization.

"No, but she believes she is," said Ruby seriously. "When that fragment of my soul merged with hers, my memories ended up overwriting her own, making her believe that she has lived my life. She knows everything from my family, all the friends I made, and everything I experience up to that point. That person honestly believed they are the real Ruby Rose."

"But if they think they're Ruby, why did she try to have Sam killed?" asked Sora. "That's not something you would do, right?"

"Memories can change how a person acts, but not how they feel," answered Ruby. "Even if she thinks she's me, the darkness in her heart still exists. Her wicked soul twisted her personality, turning her into some kind of…Dark Ruby. I'm warning you right now, Sora, that if you ever meet her, you must not let your guard down around her. She may think and act like Ruby Rose, but the darkness belongs to her."

"I won't," said Sora firmly. "But if she's not you…then who is she?"

Ruby paused for a moment, letting silence fill the void once more. When she spoke again, she uttered two soft words that made Sora's eyes grow wide in terror.

And then everything faded away into the light…

* * *

As the final chapter of the Silent Hill saga came to a close, Riku begrudgingly returned to the dark chambers of Zeref's castle where he found the Black Wizard seated at the far end of the chamber away from him, staring off into space. As he reported his mission to the supernatural town and his subsequent failure to retrieve the girl, Riku's fists clenched and he kept his eyes firmly on the ground. Every time he spoke Sora's name, he felt and unquenchable thirst for revenge. Did he realize what he had just done? Grabbing that girl was his last chance to save Kairi, and how it was gone. This was all Sora's fault – everything that happened to Kairi rested solely on him.

When Riku wrapped up his report, Zeref tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and hummed softly in thought.

"So…," he spoke slowly. "You're saying you had Ruby Rose in your grasp, but then you lost her, is that correct?"

"It wasn't my fault!" shouted Riku urgently. "If Sora hadn't – "

"I'm not mad at you, Riku," said Zeref calmly.

"You're…not?" asked Riku suspiciously.

"I had sent you to retrieve a girl from Silent Hill, but it wasn't Ruby Rose," said Zeref. "In all honestly, I was surprised when you mentioned her being in that town. From what my sources tell me, Miss Rose shouldn't have been anywhere near that world…and yet you say you saw her with your own eyes. This is…very interesting news. I might be able to use this information someday. You have my gratitude, Riku."

"Um…you're welcome?" said Riku uncertainly.

"One more thing, Riku," said Zeref. "I said you would be rewarded if you brought something back from that town. It wasn't what I had intended, but if used correctly, it may prove to be more valuable than any Maiden. You have more than earned this day."

"So then, you'll tell me where Kairi is?" asked Riku, feeling excited for the first time in months.

"She is aboard Blackbeard's ship, perfectly unharmed," stated Zeref, opening his eyes and grinning at the eager-looking teen. "Blackbeard is scheduled to return her in the coming week after he conquers New York City and those subsequent superheroes that clutter the world. Wait patiently and you will see your beloved Kairi again."

"I can't thank you enough," said Riku, sighing with gratitude.

"On no, my dear boy," said Zeref in a silky smooth tone, "it is I who should be thanking you. It seems there is more to 'Ruby Rose' than I was lead to believe."

* * *

 **Okay, so this chapter did not turn out as well as I had hoped so I am very disappointed in this one – might be my worst piece yet – but at least we managed to get in all the important pieces of the story and revealed a key fact behind Dark Ruby that both Sora and Zeref will exploit in the future. And with Silent Hill now out of the way, we have to go back and choose the next world. Let's hope that unlike last time, it won't end in a tie again because I'd hate to have to be the deciding vote and disappoint any readers.**

 **A) Arkham Asylum**

 **B) Inkopolis**

 **Please, read and review.**


	27. The Splat Zone-De Geso, Part 1

**Chapter Twenty-Six: The Splat Zone-De Geso, Part 1**

Sora grumbled sleepily, his eyes heavy and his body listless almost like he hadn't been using it for a long time. But as his conscious mind started to fire up again, Sora regained control of himself, opened his eyes, and looked around. To his immense relief, Sora was no longer it the weird and foggy streets of Silent Hill, but back aboard the Gummi Ship in his usual seat. Penny was in the front of the cockpit steering them safely through the Ocean Between while Sun was ruffling through a paper map (Penny had to explain to him six times that he was holding it upside down. As Sora slowly started to sit up straight, Velvet noticed him moving out of the corner of his eye and turned to him with a smile.

"Oh, hey, look who's up," said Velvet with a playful giggle. "Did you get enough rest?"

"Rest?" Sora groaned; his spine was unusually stiff. "How could I have rested with all those monsters trying to kill me?"

"Sounds like you had a nightmare," said Velvet, frowning.

"It was a nightmare," said Sora. "I must have passed out after everything. Did you guys come pick me up?"

"Pick you up?" Sun repeated, looking back at Sora with a raised brow. "What're talking about? When would we have time to pick you up? We haven't left the ship in hours, which is really starting to get cramped, by the way."

"Wait, what?" Sora stammered in surprise. "But – but you guys had to have picked me up. How else would we have gotten out of Silent Hill?"

"Silent Hill?" Penny repeated, sounding very clueless. "I've been navigating the star charts for a while and I've never heard of such a place before."

"But I was just there!" Sora shouted impatiently. "I was in this weird town with a bunch of fog and there were these monsters everywhere – not monsters like the Grimm, but creepy ones that bleed and rot when you kill them. I also met these scary monsters that looked like Team RWBY, and I was following around a little kid named Ruby, all thought she wasn't actually Ruby but someone that looked like Ruby, and I also met Riku and we got into a fight, and – "

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, kid," Sun interrupted. "It sounds like you have one of those self-discovering dreams. You know, they say dreams tell you something about yourself – "

"But it wasn't a dream; it was real!" Sora snapped. What was it going to take for them to believe him? If he had some kind of proof that – Sora then remembered something he grabbed in Silent Hill and reached into his jacket, relieved to find that it was actually there and whipped it out in front of their faces. "See this? It's a page of Akari's book!"

"Wait, when did you find that?" asked Velvet in surprise. She looked it over for a moment to confirm that it was real; it was. "I don't remember you ever finding this."

"I got it at the sanatorium in Silent Hill," said Sora, relived that he was finally getting through to them.

"Okay, say you are telling the truth," said Penny, sounding very suspicious of the whole thing. "How is it you wound up in this world we've never heard of when you were asleep in the back of the Gummi Ship for the past twenty minutes?"

"Silent Hill is a supernatural town that doesn't exist in the physical world," said Sora seriously. "It has some strange power that draws people into it, trying to guide them to something. My soul must have been lost in Silent Hill while my body was still here."

"So what was that town trying to lead you to?" asked Sun.

"I…can't remember," Sora answered slowly. "I just…remember it being important…but I don't know what it was. Sorry, guys."

"Eh, it was no big deal," said Sun, shrugging his shoulders. "Hey, at least you got a torn page out of the whole thing. I bet Akari is gonna be real happy when you bring back more of her friends.

Penny, Sun, and Velvet returned to what they were doing before and Sora felt a sense of guilt bubble up in his stomach. He knew it wasn't a good idea to keep it a secret from his teammates, but how was he supposed to explain his conversation with Ruby Rose? The spiky-haired island boy was still trying to wrap his brain around everything she had told him. From what he understood so far, Ruby's soul had broken up into three pieces and were scattered across the universe, but one of them ended up latching on to a bad guy and overwrote their memories, making them think they were Ruby Rose. Sharing this information with his teammates would no doubt end in disaster as they were be angry with his for not saying about meet Dark Ruby on Yamatai and could potentially destroy their faith in him. But even worse than that, it would make them want to see out Dark Ruby, and after the real Ruby explained who that person really was, Sora made a private decision to keep her friends safely away from that…villain.

And then there was the matter with Riku. While he was surprised that his friends didn't question him about meeting Riku in Silent Hill, he was nonetheless grateful that they didn't probe him for answers. Sora was still in a state of belief concerning his best friend. He knew that Riku cared about Kairi…a lot – their feelings for her was one of the many points of their long standing rivalry. But for him to team up with the most dangerous criminal in the universe – the Black Wizard Zeref – and even resort to kidnapping children…. Sora believed that there might be a chance to bring him back to the right side, but his older teammates were more pessimistic given their long combat history and might not be willing to give him a second chance.

The controls on the console buzzed to life, which meant that they had arrived at their next destination. Sora bounced out of his seat, deciding to put the whole Silent Hill mess away for now, and leaned forward with the rest of his team to look out the window.

The new world looked like a bright and colorful city busting with life and energy. Dozens of tall buildings circles around a square crosswalk, some of them with giant electronic billboards or neon signs and a few others with gigantic animal statues perched on top. Color seemed to be the biggest theme of the bustling city as every building in the city was painted with every color under the rainbow, from solid strips that lined the streets to mixed splatters on the buildings. There were other areas outside the city that looked like specialized zones on floating platforms, and the largest structure in the city was the neon-green tower with which was perched by a gigantic sea creature that looked like a cross between an eel and a catfish.

"Welcome to Inkopolis, the most colorful world in the universe," said Velvet excitedly. "I've visited here once or twice to compete in the turf war games. They were really fun, and Inkopolis is really peaceful."

"Probably won't stay that way for long," said Penny pessimistically. "According to the data we received from Commander Yagami, one of Zeref's followers – DJ Octavio – leads the Octarians of this world."

"Who are the Octarians?" asked Sora curiously.

"Well, Inkopolis is actually divided between two species," said Velvet, frowning. "There are the Inklings – people with squid-like traits – and the Octarians – people with octopus-like traits. A long time ago, there was great war where the Inklings and the Octarians were fighting for territory when the sea levels started to rise and eat up most of the world's land. The Inklings won the war and forced the Octarians to live underground while the Inklings were allowed to remain aboveground. Ever since then, there has been a long standing feud between the two species."

"And I'll bet you anything DJ Octavio went to Zeref to get an edge," said Penny. "We shouldn't waste any time and get down there."

"Wait, you can't go looking like that!" Velvet yelped, throwing up her hands when the other started to get out of their seats.

"What's wrong with the way we look?" asked Sun, and then he flexed his arms. "I look smokin' hot."

"Inklings have never seen humans or Faunus before," Velvet explained. "If we go looking like we do now, they'll probably freak out."

"Then how are we supposed to get down there?" asked Sora.

"Fortunately, I had the foresight to pack these when I heard we were visiting Inkopolis," said Velvet proudly. She placed her box gently on the ship floor and bended down to dig through the contents. After shuffling through the box for a few minutes, Velvet made a satisfied noise, stood up, and held out handful of blank masks. "Ta-da! ID Masks! Wearing one of these creates a cloaking field that completely changes the appearance of anyone who wears them. I bought these off a guy named Kevin 11 – they cost me an arm and a leg – but I found that they have been well worth it."

"Awesome," said Sora, taking one mask for himself.

"Great idea, Velvet," Penny complimented her as she took one for herself. "With these, we should be able to blend right in with the locals. C'mon, let's get to work."

The Atlesian cyborg tipped the nose of the Gummi Ship in the direct of one of the floating platforms around the city as everyone put on their ID Masks.

* * *

When Team Sora touched down on one of the floating platforms around the main city and hid their ship where nobody would find it, the spiky-haired boy was the first to jump out. He was eager to see this new world that Velvet spoke with high praise (it definitely wasn't because Sora might have a tiny crush on the Rabbit Faunus – nope). It looked like they had landed in a crazy outdoor mall packed with all kinds of specialized stores, boxes of potted plants, and colorful advertisement signs written in a language Sora couldn't read. The design of the mall was very strange because there were a lot of ramps that lead nowhere, the wooden walkways went up and down at random areas, and there were a lot of metal fencing floors in between. But none the less, Sora thought the place was pretty cool.

When the rest of his team joined him, Sora had the chance to see what new appearances their ID Masks gave them. They were all shorter than normal – roughly around kid-sized – with black markings around their eyes to look like masks and pointed ears. In place of their hair, they had tentacles there were painted a different color from each other (Sora was red, Sun was yellow, Penny was green, and Velvet was brown). The girls had their tentacles dangling around the sides of their heads, the boys had theirs tied up into ponytails. And thankfully enough, they were able to keep their normal clothes, though Sun was forced to close his jacket because it wasn't appropriate for kids to go flashing their chests.

"Wow, you weren't kidding," said Sun, whistling impressively as he looked around. "This place is so bright an guy could go blind here."

"And the atmosphere is so upbeat and friendly," said Penny, sounding in a good mood. "You would never think that a villain was lurking around here."

"That's why I like coming here," said Velvet, smiling. "It's nice to be able to get away from all the gloominess and just have some fun for once."

"I couldn't agree with you more," said Sora. After escaping a miserable place like Silent Hill, he could stand to have some fun for a change. "I mean, we still have a job to do and we can get to that, but let's just enjoy ourselves while we're here. Who knows how long it'll be before we come across a carefree world like this again."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," said Penny, surprising Sora that she agreed. "Even heroes deserve to relax once in a while."

"Aw yeah, this is gonna be awesome!" Sun cheered, throwing his hands in the air in excitement. "What do you think we should do first?"

" **Players, are you ready?** "

The members of Team Sora spun around in confusion with the exception of Velvet, who looked like she was realizing some horrible mistake they had just made. It wasn't until the Rabbit (Squid?) Faunus pointed it out that her teammates noticed the four new people appearing on the opposite side of the mall. A group of Inklings made up of three boys and one girl appeared on their starting platform, all of them carrying some type of weapon. Two of them were carrying weapons that looked like squirt guns, one of them was holding a giant paint roller, and the only girl on the team carried a bucket. All four Inklings looked eagerly to move, but waited patiently for the signal to start. Then the unseen announcer came back:

" **Players ready? Three…two…one…START!** "

An air horn went off somewhere and the Inklings immediately raced down the ramp from their starting zone; the three boys raced in each direction shooting the ground with green paint from their guns and paint roller while the girl stayed in the back splattering the walls and floor with her bucket. Sora and the others watched the Inklings run around the entirety of the shopping center, spraying nearly every inch of concrete in green paint, while they remained frozen at the starting line, looking completely out of their depth.

"What are they doing?" asked Sun as he watched one of the Inklings swipe his roller across a store window. "They're making a mess of the place. Should we stop them."

"No, that's part of the game," said Velvet. The other three looked to her for answers. "We're in the middle of a Turf War – it's one of the main competitions held in Inkopolis. The idea is that eight players are divided into two teams of four and the main objective is to cover as of the stage in your team's colors as possible before the timer runs out in three minutes. The team that covers the most turf in their color by the end of the round wins."

"Okay, so it's kinda like paintball, but you hit everything else instead of the players," Penny summed up.

"Well, actually –" Velvet started.

A ball of green pain zoomed across Sora's face and splattered into the wall next to his head, coving nearly the entire surface in that color. The red Inkling jumped back in surprise and turned to face the direction it came from. The two boys with guns from the opposing team had made their way up the ramp to their starting point and were shooting them with paint bullets at rapid fire. Sora jumped over one of the bullets, Sun bended his body out of the way, Penny lowered her head with hands over her tentacles, and Velvet went completely straight, allowing the paint bullets to splatter the wall on either side of her. The enemy Inklings sprayed them relentlessly with paint and it was only due to their trained flexibility and agility that they managed to avoid being splatted. And when the opposing team's roller came sliding in between his teammates and zooming at Team Sora, the world travelers scrambled, hopped over the edge of the block, and dropped down to street level. Sora hit the ground first, crouching into a roll, and made a quick dash around the corner of the store that wasn't painted green with his teammates joining him seconds later.

"Why are they shooting at us?" asked Penny. "I thought the game was to cover the turf in paint, not the opponent."

"But splatting the opposing team is part of the game too," explained Velvet. "You don't get any points for hitting them, but when an opposing player is splatted, they get a penalty and are forced to go back to the beginning of the level. This helps your team because it means you can cover more area while the other team is recovering."

"Wish you could have told us earlier," said Sun, glaring at her; Velvet chuckled nervously.

"Well, if they can shoot at us, then we can do the same," said Sora, reaching behind him for Lyrical Carnation. But when he groped around his belt, he suddenly realized that his scythe was missing. "Huh? Where'd my weapon go?"

"My gunchaku are missing too," said Sun, patting his waist.

"And so are my swords," gasped Penny.

"Inkopolis has a very strict rule about not bringing in any dangerous weapons," said Velvet. "Anything sharp, stabby, or filled with bullets are strictly prohibited and are taken away upon entry. No one actually gets hurt in Inkopolis, which is why it's so peaceful around here."

"Is there anything else you'd like to mention?" asked Penny exasperatedly.

"Yeah, one of our opponents is standing right behind us," answered Velvet.

Sora and the others spun around, their eyes going comedically large, and just now realized that the only girl on the opposing team was standing their swinging her bucket by the handle with one finger, grinning mischievously. Before anyone had a chance to do anything, the squid kid pulled back her bucket and splashed them in green paint. It felt like being hit by a tsunami, only stickier. The splatter carried Team Sora across the playing field, piled up on top of one another (and of course Penny had to be the one on top), dripping from head to tentacle in paint. The members of Team Sora moaned in collective groans while the world was spinning in their eyes and splattered in green paint.

"That…was unpleasant," said Penny, grimacing.

"Yeah…," said Velvet softly. "Those sloshers really pack a punch."

" **Time up! Game over!** "

"Wait, that fast?" gapped Sora.

"How long were we out?" asked Sun surprisingly.

As the horn sounded for the end of the match, a giant electronic board hovered over the edge of the playing field and lit up with an overhead view of the stage. Nearly every section of the shopping center was painted in the opposing team's color and only failed to fill in the remaining spots because they ran out of time. And for some reason, a fat cat appeared in the middle of the board with an empty bar below it. The empty bar was quickly filled in with green color, taking up nearly every space and the fat cat held out a flag pointing to the opposite teams score. They were absolutely dominated; Sora didn't know whether he should remain confused or ashamed.

Sora pushed himself up with all his strength and knocked his teammates off, unceremoniously dropping them on the floor. The former wielder of the scythe brushed himself off while his teammates scrambled to get back on their feet when he heard a chorus of laughter coming from across the plaza. The opposing team were openly laughing and pointing at Sora and his friends, one of them leaning on his friend to keep himself from falling over for laughing too hard and another was on the ground slapping hi hand on the ground repeatedly. Sora did not appreciate being laughed at by a bunch of strangers and neither did his team, who were all glaring together at the opponents. There was a difference between being a sore loser and a sore winner.

"Man, did you see the looks on their faces?" one of the Inklings cackled. He made a face that looked like he was silently screaming in an overdramatic way and the others laughed harder. "Oh man, that almost made the whole thing worth it."

"They didn't even have any weapons!" the girl Inkling snickered. "What kind of morons go into a turf war without weapons?"

"Man, these guys are even dumber than - ," another Inkling started, but stopped himself. "Nah, nobody's as dumb as Azul."

"Yeah," his teammate agreed. "Hey, maybe she can hook up with these losers. They might be the only people that would actually want her."

"Are you done?" said Sora, glaring. "You know the only reason any of you won was because we weren't allowed to bring out weapons in. If we had, we would have totally killed you."

"And he's speaking literally," said Penny, flooding her arms and furrowing her brow.

"Yeah, whatever, losers," said one of the Inklings, making an 'L' with his fingers on his forehead.

"That's quite enough out of you-De Geso!"

A new voice chimed in and the Inkling stopped laughing and started looking around for the originator along with Team Sora. Everyone saw something moving out of the corner of their eyes on the right hand side and looked up to one of the raised platforms. A new Inkling had showed up, but…there was something different about her. She looked nothing like the Inklings on the opposing team or the disguises Sora and the others were wearing. The new Inkling was still child-sized, but her sapphire-blue tentacles were divided into ten parts that ended in zig-zags, making them resemble hair. She wore a white dress with blue circle patterns around the hem, blue crystal bracelets, and a pointed hat with "fins".

The squid girl pulled out a small paint gun from behind her back and grinned confidently. While the newcomer seemed very certain of herself, Sora noticed that the opposing team looked exasperated, almost annoyed that the girl had showed up. The squid girl umped down from her perch and landed in a crouch near them. She held her gun to opposing team, but the Inklings seemed to pay her no mind and looking at more interesting things like the clouds or their nail.

"All right, you bullies," said the girl. "You better apologize right now or else-de geso!"

"Ugh, who invited this idiot?" groaned one of the Inklings, rolling his eyes at the girl. "Hey, Azul, beat it already. Nobody wants you here."

"My name is Squid Girl-de geso!" said Squid Girl proudly. "I am the emissary of Inkopolis and it is my duty to uphold the peace of this fair city, especially when Inklings are bullying noobs-de geso. So start apologizing or I'll splat ya-de geso!"

The Inklings looked at one another…and then they all broke down in laughter, making Squid Girl pout angrily. Sora got the suspicion that, despite before the "Emissary of Inkopolis", she wasn't very respected.

"You…splat us…?" one of the Inklings said between fits of laughter. "You can't even land a single shot."

"Oh yeah!" said Squid Girl challengingly. "Take this-de geso!"

Squid Girl fired off several rounds of her paint gun…and missed by unnaturally wide margins. The Inklings weren't even moving, but the paint splattered were somehow hitting everything except for them; motionless mannequins, untouched windows, the ground around their feet, and even one blue bullet splattered Sun in the face. When the paint gun finally ran out of ammunition, Squid Girl inspected her work, only just realizing that she had not landed a single shot. The Inkling team looked at one another, raised their weapons in unison, and –

Sora and the others looked away as the cacophony of splatters filled their ears for a full twenty seconds. When the firing squad stopped, Sora opened his eyes slowly and looked to what remained of the poor Squid Girl. Oddly enough, he couldn't find any trace of the blue-haired squid – only a giant green splatter on the wall. Just when he started contemplating that they may have splattered out of existence, a green painted body slowly peeled from the wall and Squid Girl fell flat on her face, moaning quietly. The Inkling laughed cruelly at her expense.

"C'mon, guys," said one of the Inkling. "Don't wanna get the stench of loser all over my new gear".

And with that final remark, the Inklings walked away laughing. Sora glared at their back as he approached the downed Squid Girl, who was running the paint off her face with her arm.

"That was unnecessarily harsh," said Sora, offering his hand. "Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?"

"Who, me?" said Squid Girl. She suddenly jumped to her feet, did a quick wiped down, and puffed her chest out with her hands on her hips. "Of course I'm fine-De Geso. I'm Squid Girl, the emissary of Inkopolis-De Geso! There ain't nothing I can't handle-de geso!"

"Except a bunch of kids with pain guns," said Penny pointedly; Squid Girl grimaced.

"What was that all about?" asked Sun, gesturing to the Inkling that left. "I get that they were rude because they beat us, but they were way more brutal to you. Is something going on?"

"It's…nothing-de geso," said Squid Girl, purposely avoiding their eye. Sora frowned; was she being bullied? "So…what's up with you guys-de geso? Going into a turf war without bringing any splattershots or inkbrushes? You guys must be even dumber than me-de geso."

"So you admit that your dumb," said Penny teasingly; Squid Girl made a choking noise.

"We're uh…from out of town," Velvet made an excuse. "This is our first time to the city and we don't really know a whole lot about the place. We kinda just wandered into here by accident."

"Well, then you're in luck-de geso!" Squid Girl shouted exuberantly, pointing to the sky. "Since I am such a gracious and benevolent emissary, I – Squid Girl, Emissary of Inkopolis – shall bestow upon you the honor of being in my company as I humbly show you the pride that is Inkopolis as its emissary-de geso."

"You keep using that word, but I don't think you know what it means," said Penny.

"Oh, stick crab in it-de geso!" yelled Squid Girl frustrated. "Grr…just follow me-de geso. And don't slow me down-de geso!"

The little Squid Girl pivoted on her foot and stomped away, still sticky with goops of green paint on her hair and dress. The members of team Sora looked at one another until Sora just shrugged and started following the self-proclaimed emissary of the city; Sun and the others quickly fell in step with him.

* * *

 **INKOPOLIS**

* * *

"This is Inkopolis Plaza-de geso," said Squid Girl with a flourishing wave. "It's kinda like the central hub for all of Inkopolis, so most of the Inklings like to hang out around here-de geso."

Sora and the other took a long look around when they stepped off the warp pad and couldn't deny that they were impressed by the cityscape. Inkopolis was a lot more colorful up close than when view in space to the point where it was almost blinding. Nearly everything was covered in bright shades of paint and electronics buzzed in their ears; the plaza was packed with side-to-side stores that sold nearly everything ranging from shoes, gear, and even paint weapons. There was a colorful ramp that led to a second floor to the "Inkopolis News Starring the Squid Sisters" – Squid Girl unknowingly translated for them. But Inkopolis Tower was by far the most interesting feature about the city, mostly because there was a giant electric catfish curled around it.

"Uh, quick question," asked Sun, pointing to the giant sea creature. "What is that? And should we be calling in a military airstrike?"

"What? That-de geso?" Squid Girl blinked, looking up at the giant fish in confusion and back to them. "That's the Great Zapfish-de geso. Everyone knows about the Great Zapfish-de geso."

"But…we're from out of town, remember?" said Velvet quickly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot-de geso," said Squid thoughtfully. "Well, I guess the first thing you should know about the Great Zapfish is that it's the most important part of Inkopolis-de geso. The Great Zapfish is over a hundred years old and powers all of Inkopolis from Inkopolis tower-de geso. It creates all the electricity we use in the city-de geso. If we ever lost it, Inkopolis would lose all its power and we'd be completely defenseless-de geso."

"Doesn't that make it a little risky to keep that thing out in the open?" asked Penny.

"Nah, no one's gonna take the Great Zapfish-de geso," said Squid Girl confidently, waving off her worries. "Inkopolis Tower is directly in the middle of the city-de geso. If anyone wanted to take it, they would have to find some way to lift up that huge fish and do it without being spotted by over thousands of Inklings-de geso. The Great Zapfish is perfectly safe-de geso."

"Ugh, the Inkling dropout is back."

"Why does she keep showing up? She knows that nobody wants her around, right?"

"She should just go to Octo Valley with all the other losers, but I bet the Octarians would just send her back.

Dozens of Inklings were obviously flittering around the plaza for an afternoon of relaxation and shopping from a day of turf wars, but there were a few they were cluttered together, gossiping to one another. They were making no effort to keep their voices down; they clearly wanted Squid Girl to hear what they were saying about her. And the pointing and laughing were only making their point stronger. Sora glared at them from a distance. He was right – the Inklings were bullying Squid Girl, but it didn't seem to be isolated among just a handful of rude players. Everywhere he turned; there was always an Inkling that looked at Squid Girl like she was something foul-smelling that you would wipe off the bottom of your shoes. Squid Girl was bowing her head slightly so that the fringe of her hair shadowed her eyes; Sora felt his chest tighten painfully.

"Squid Girl…," Sora said slowly, reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder.

" _ **Heeey, splat fans! Squid Sisters are coming to you live from Inkopolis Studios to give you the latest deets on today's rankings!**_ "

A tooth-rotting sweet voice boomed across the plaza, making the members of Team Sora look around in curiosity. They noticed that Squid Girl and the other Inklings were looking to the giant monitor underneath the raccoon-dog statue. On the screen were two Inkling girls that looked slightly older than Squid Girl; one of them was posing next to a video screen while the other looked like she wished she could be anywhere else.

The perky Inkling on the left had really long black tentacles with a pink-purple tinge at the ends tied in the back of her head like a bow, leaving them dangling behind her. Her outfit looked like a black corset with attached shorts that had three magenta marks on the front, magenta tights underneath, a pair of black wedge shoes, and a square-shaped pink and white hat on her head. The bored-looking Inkling on the right had light-gray tentacles tied in a large bow on the right side of her head with the ends wrapping around to the other side. She also wore a black corset dress and wedge shoes similar to her co-host, but the markings and tights underneath were bright green and her hat was a white and green circle that looked like a calamari ring.

" _ **We've got a pretty weird turf war today, don't we, Marie?**_ " said the excitable Inkling.

" _ **Weird might be the right word for it, Callie,**_ " said Marie. " _ **It's more like straight-up stupid.**_ "

" _ **Well, I would phrase it that way**_ ," said Marie. " _ **But just from looking at today's footage, you can tell these Inklings aren't very smart.**_ "

Sora had a bad feeling in the pit of his gut he knew who they were talking about, and sure enough, the Squid Sisters turned to the video screen and showed the scene where Sora and his friends were viciously dominated by the green Inklings. It seemed more painful to watch than to experience. Sora tried hard not to cringe when watching his video self jumping around like an idiot, avoiding the enemy's paint fire, and then leaping over the side and ducking behind a building like a scared kitten. And watching the moment when the girl drowned them fill him with regret while the Inklings in the plaza laughed collectively, even Squid Girl.

" _ **Whoever they were, they really had no idea what they were doing**_ ," said Callie. " _ **From the interview with the winning team, they didn't even bring any weapons with them.**_ "

" _ **Noobs**_ ," said Marie shortly. " _ **This will go down as one of the biggest epic fails in Inkopolis history. And speaking of epic fails –**_ "

Squid Girl wasn't laughing anymore when the Squid Sisters showed the footage of her leaping into the fray and missing dozens of easy shots before being blasted into a smear on the wall. The Inklings were beside themselves with laughter, some of them falling over and holding their stomach and a few choking on their own breaths. Squid Girl puffed out her cheek and glared at the Squid Sisters on big monitor.

" _ **Looks like our local 'emissary of Inkopolis' is at it again,**_ " said Marie mildly. " _ **In a mind-boggling feat of skill – or lack of, in this case – Azul the Squid Girl epically missed fourteen pain shots, even though she was only five feet away. As embarrassingly as it is to enter a turf war without a weapon, missing a single shot from that close is epiccaly humiliating.**_ "

" _ **Well, at least she tried her best,**_ " said Callie cheerfully; Marie turned her head slowly with an exasperated look to her co-host. " _ **Well, that's about all the time we have for now. Tune in next time to Inkopolis News for the latest update on the upcoming Splatfest. I'm Callie!**_ "

" **I'm Marie** ," said Marie.

" _ **Staaay fresh!**_ " The Squid Sisters said in unison.

"Well, that's just great," said Sun sarcastically as the Squid Sisters signed off. "Yeah, I always wanted to be publically humiliated on the news."

"So much for keeping a low profile," mumbled Penny, looking around drearily at the Inklings pointing and laughing across the plaza.

"Hey, Squid Girl, where're you going?" Velvet suddenly asked.

Sora's attention returned to their tour guide when the disguised Rabbit Faunus called her out. The blue-haired Squid Girl was marching through the crosswalk, purposely ignoring all the Inklings laughing at her expense and stomped furiously all the way up the colorful ramp leading to the second level of the city. Sora and his friends looked at each other in momentary confusion, shrugged their shoulders, and chased after her. They caught up to Squid Girl just as she reached the building underneath the city video monitor. With a huff, Squid Girl pressed her hands against the glass double doors and threw them open with a big shout:

"CALLIE? MARIE? WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA-DE GESO!"

As the Squid Girl marched her way inside, Sora and the others made it inside before the glass doors shut behind them. It looked like they had walked into the Inkopolis News Studio judging from the multitude of cameras pointed at a single space with a wide video screen hanging from the wall. The studio was very big, it was unusually empty. The only things inside other than the filming equipment were a pair of lounge chairs and a single round table holding a couple of magazines and a cup of multicolored lollipops. And sitting in the lounge chairs were the Squid Sisters who they had just saw on the television outside; Callie was as bubbly in person and practically bouncing in her seat while Marie was slouched against the backrest holding her head up with one hand looking eternally bored.

It looked like they had been talking to each other when Squid Girl had so rudely barged in. While anyone else would have been upset about someone walking into their studio unannounced, the Squid Sisters seemed pleasantly surprised when they saw that it was Squid Girl who had intruded upon them. Callie clapped her hands with a squeal, bounced out of her chair, and glomped herself onto the smaller Inkling. Even Marie looked happy enough to see Squid girl that she actually a smile.

"Azul!" squealed Callie, breaking the hug. "I always love it when you come to visit us at work!"

"I'm guessing you saw the news," said Marie, smirking teasingly.

"Yeah, I saw it-de geso!" shouted Squid Girl. "What's the big idea showing that on the news-de geso? You totally embarrassed me-de geso!"

"You don't need our help doing that," said Marie jokingly.

"Don't be mean to Azul, Marie," Callie defended. "Sorry, Azul, but it's our job to report the news, and the producers thought it'd boost the ratings. It was nothing personal; you know we love you." She hugged the blue-haired Inkling again when she realized they had an audience. "Azul, you know you're not allowed to bring uninvited guests into the studio!"

"Sorry, guys, but don't do unscheduled autographs," said Marie dryly.

"Oh, we don't want anything," said Sora quickly. "We're friends with Squid Girl. My name's Sora and this is Sun, Penny, and Velvet."

"Did you say friends?" Callie squealed loudly, making everyone slapped their hands over their ears and cringe. The purple-themed squid zoomed over to Sora and grabbed him by the arms; she had a surprisingly strong grip. "You just said your Azul's friend, right? Like, her actual friend, RIGHT?" Sora's voice got lost somewhere in his throat, so he just nodded with a stupefied expression. "Oh, thank the Great Zapfish! Azul has friends! I was so scared she would die alone!"

"HEY!" yelled Squid Girl insultingly.

"Callie, aren't you forgetting something?" asked Marie, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, where are my manner," Callie gasped in realization. "We forgot to introduce ourselves. My name is Callie Cuttlefish. I'm the cousin of Azul – that's Squid Girl to you guys – and Marie, my partner."

"Hey, I'm Marie," said Marie with a lazy wave. "I'm their cousin too."

"Wait, so all three of you are cousins?" asked Penny in confusion.

"That's right/-de geso," the cephalopod cousins answered in unison.

"But I thought you two were called the Squid Sisters," said Penny, pointing to Callie and Marie together.

"Squid Cousins doesn't sound as good as Squid Sisters for a pop idol duo," said Callie sheepishly.

"Well, they're not wrong," admitted Sun.

"Hey, aren't you the guys that totally whiffed it in today's turf war?" asked Marie.

"Uh, yeah, that was us," said Velvet, scratching her head in embarrassment.

"Dude, what happened out there?" asked Marie, cackling in a mean-spirited way. "You guys got your tentacles totally owed like a bunch of noobs. I thought only Octarians were dumb enough to go into a turf war without any weapons. You should have at least had a Splattershot Jr. or a Splat Roller."

"We're from out of town," said Penny, "so we don't know our way around the city or have any weapons on us. We kinda wandered into the staging area by accident."

"Wait, so you don't have any weapons whatsoever?" asked Callie. The members of Team Sora shook their heads and Callie let out an excited squeal of delight. "You guys know what that means, don't you?"

"Oh no," muttered Squid Girl.

"It means we have to go – " Callie said, building it up.

"Please don't say it," moaned Marie.

"SHOPPING!" Callie screamed happily; Squid Girl and Marie groaned despairingly. The purple-themed Inkling grabbed Sora and Sun by the arms, grinning from ear-to-pointed-ear. "We have got to get you to Booyah Base! It's the best shopping center in all of Inkopolis! C'mon, time's a-wastin'!"

Callie all but dragged the boys behind her, kicking the studio door open, and pulling them down the ramp while Penny, Velvet, and Squid watched them go. The Atlesian android and the disguised Faunus shared a look with Squid Girl, and then raced after them. Marie just tilted her head back against her chair and closed her eyes trying to relax….Squid Girl barged back into the studio, grabbed her cousin's hand, and dragged her outside as well. If they were going to suffer, she may as well too.

Sora thanks his lucky stars that Callie didn't have to drag them too far since Booyah Base was just across the street; he didn't know how much more punishment his knees could take. The purple Squid Sister seemed to know the mall like the back of her hands because she didn't hesitate for a moment as they pushed through the afternoon crowd and stopped in front of their destination: Ammo Knights. Callie finally let go of their arms – she made some very visible bruises on their skin – and clapped with another excited squeal as she bounced inside. Penny and Velvet showed up a moment later, panting tiredly and leaning on their knees for support, and Squid Girl brought up the rear dragging her less interested cousin across the ground; the green Squid Sister didn't seem to mind as much. Sora somehow felt he was going to regret this decision, but knew that without any weapons they didn't have any chance of fighting, so the former scythe-wielder bit his tongue and walked inside.

For what seemed to be the only weapon shop in Inkopolis, Ammo Knights wasn't very impressive. The floor space was arguably small and one-third of the area was taken up by the display case and the workbench off to the side. The floor looked like it hadn't been cleaned in recent days – there were cans of spilled pain everywhere and littered with plastic parts most likely used for paint guns. The only thing that made the store seem professional was the rack of paint weapons for sale behind the counter, which actually made Sora feel a tinge of excitement (perhaps he inherited Ruby's enthusiasm for weapons in addition to Crescent Rose).

"Huh, doesn't look like Sheldon's in right now," said Callie, leaning over the counter. "Oh well, we'll just leave him an I.O.U."

"Are you sure that's okay?" asked Velvet with some concern.

"You kidding?" Marie chuckled sarcastically. "The guy's a mega-obsessed Squid Sister fan. He'd sell us everything in the entire store for one song if we asked him to."

"You did return everything you took from him, right?" asked Callie suspiciously.

"As far as you know," said Marie with a sneaky grin. Noticing that her cousin was glaring at her, Marie quickly decided to change topics. "So, what type of weapons are you guys looking for?"

"We don't know," said Sora honestly. "They don't have a whole lot of…paint guns where we're from. We wouldn't know where to start."

"Ooh, ooh, you definitely have to try the roller!" said Callie eagerly. She reached over the counter and pulled a giant paint roller off the rack with a flourish. "Rollers cover a larger area than any other weapon and they're light weight for that Inkling on the go. Rollers are the best out of all the paint weapons."

"And by best, she means suckiest," said Marie rudely. Callie pouted as her cousin walked over, taking off one longer guns off the rack. "The chargers are obviously the best weapons. They build up their power to take out enemies in one hit and they have the farthest range, making it ideal for long-distance shooting."

"Rollers are the best weapons!" snapped Callie. "Those chargers take too long and you're pretty much a sitting duck if they get too close!"

"And rollers can't do squat from a distance," retorted Marie. "It doesn't matter if the chargers can't do anything up close since they would take out your roller from a distance."

"Can I just say something," Sora interrupted. Callie and Marie snapped their focus on his so fast it made him jump a little. "The four of us do have some experience with weapons, just…not the kind you use here in Inkopolis. I used to have a…I guess it was more of a sniper rifle than anything else. Maybe that would give you an idea what I'm looking for?"

"A sniper, eh?" said Marie, suddenly smirking at her cousin, who stuck her tongue out childishly. She walked around the counter, shuffling through the piles of guns, and came back carrying a long gun similar to the one she had been holding before. "This is an E-liter 3K Scope. It's virtually identical to the standard E-liter 3K, but with the same scope attachment as the Splatterscope, giving it better accuracy and a slightly longer range. The only down side is that it makes it easier to get blindsided and it's a little heavier, which will really slow you down."

"I don't think I'll have a problem with speed," said Sora knowingly. He picked up the rifle, testing its weight, and looked through the scope. "Hmm…it's actually a little lighter than Crescent R – I mean, the nameless gun that I normally use. Okay, I think I'll take this."

Marie smirked at her cousin victoriously; Callie puffed out her cheeks and hummed in frustration.

"You may have won this round, but I still get to pick for the rest of them!" yelled Callie like she was issuing a challenge. She ran around behind the rest of Team Sora and started shoving them inside. "Get the lead paint out, you three. We've got some serious shopping to do."

"Watch it, you'll bruise my abs," Sun complained.

Marie, looking proud that she one-upped her cousin, stepped outside of the shop with Sora, who decided to duck out when Callie started flinging weapons around the store trying to find the perfect match for the rest of his team. They found Squid Girl outside with her face pressed against the shop window with a sparkle in her eye. Sora leaned closer and saw that she was staring longingly at a gun that looked like a giant airbrush (Marie told him it was an Aerospray MG). With having the famous Squid Sisters for cousins, Sora didn't know why Squid Girl didn't just get it for herself – it was obvious to anyone looking how much she wanted it. But as a cluster of Inklings with shopping bags were walking by, the answer became painfully apparent.

"Isn't that cute? The washout thinks a new gun make her better."

"She could have a nuclear splat bomb and I bet she wouldn't hit a thing."

"Not like anyone would wanna waste their time playing with her."

"It would almost be sad if it wasn't so pathetic, am I right?"

The Inklings laughed among themselves when they walked out of earshot. Squid Girl hanged her head low, shadowing her eyes with her hair, stepped away from the window, and slowly walked over to a bench across from the store. She took a seat on the end of the bench when she noticed another Inkling was sitting on the other side. The two looked at each other for a moment before the Inkling stood up, grabbed his bag, and walked away without any explanation. Squid Girl hanged her head again. Sora frowned at the display.

"Hey, Marie, can I ask you something?" said Sora. Marie made a noise telling him she was listening. "It's about Squid Girl. I can't help but notice that the other Inklings don't like her for some reason. I mean, sure she's bad with a paint gun, but I don't think that'd be enough for everyone to be treating her so badly."

"Azul is…different," said Marie, her voice was smaller and sounded sad. "I'm sure you noticed it by now – that she's not like other Inklings. It's not because she doesn't have any talent for turf wars, but it because everything about her set Azul apart from everyone else. She has a lot more tentacles, she can't slide through paint, and she has that hat she always wears that she can never take off because it physically hurts her. She's been different from everyone else ever since we were hatchlings and the other Inklings insult her paint skills as an excuse to attack her personally. It's disgusting, but no matter how much we try to defend our cousin, even the Squid Sisters can't change the opinions of the general public."

"That's horrible," said Sora. "Does Squid Girl know about this?"

"I think on some level she does," Marie admitted. "I know I act like I don't care about anything, but I hate seeing my cousin get hurt like that all the time. But what can you do. No matter where you're from, people always hate things that are different from them."

"Just like how the humans treat the Faunus," said Sora absently.

"Did you just say 'Faunus'?" asked Marie curiously.

"Uh, what?" Sora sputtered. "No, no, of course I didn't! I didn't say Faunus – that's a weird word, Faunus – I don't even think that is a real word! You're crazy, Marie, crazy!"

Marie's eyes narrowed suspiciously on the cleverly disguised human humming loudly in though; Sora could feel a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. But before the mean-spirited half of the Squid Sisters could say anything (or if she wanted to say anything), Sora let out a breath of relief when Callie announced that they were back and armed with paint-related weapons. Sun was carrying a weapon that looked like a giant paintbrush on a red stick dipped in yellow paint, Penny's weapon resembled a Gatling gun with a large paint container underneath, and Velvet had something that looked like a larger version of the standard guns.

"Ta-da!" Callie announced with an dramatic wave of her hands. "Presenting your new Splatoon! Sun is sporting a brand new Permanent Inkbrush a high speed weapon that improvise mobility and has the fastest strike range in exchange for covering a smaller area and weaker attack strength."

"I can work with this," said Sun, spinning the inkbrush around.

"And over here we have Penny with a new Heavy Splatling," said Callie, moving down the line. "A weapon that boasts in high attack power, high range, and a fast rate of fire, it's only drawback is its incredible weight to slow down players."

"I should be able to compensate for it," said Penny confidently, spinning the splatling's barrel.

"And finally, we have Velvet," said Callie, ending with the Rabbit Faunus in disguise. "Miss Velvet is wearing a Splattershot Pro – a more advance version of the traditional Splattershot in terms of power and rate of fire, the Spalttershot Pro is the perfect weapon for newcomers seeking greater experience.

"Not sure if it's my style," Velvet admitted. "But if Callie says it's the one for me, then I'll take it."

"Okay, okay, not bad," said Marie, looking them over with approval. "You can always trust Callie to have a good eye for quality, even if she does like – ugh, rollers."

"Just ignore my rude cousin," said Callie. "Trust me, those weapons were made for you. You should totally try them out right away."

"How do we do that?" asked Sora.

Callie and Marie looked at each other, grinning mischievously.

* * *

" **Welcome, ladies and Inklings, to the Kelp Dome!** " the Inkling commentator announced excitedly.

Inklings of all colors exploded into waves of cheers all around the Kelp Dome as Sora and his team took their position at the starting line on their end of the field. Callie and Marie had suggested a game to help them test out their new weapons – something about learning through experience was the best teaching method – and Sora couldn't argue; he wanted to try out the games himself.

The disguised human walked to the edge of the raised platform they started at, taking this opportunity to survey the landscape before they got started. Despite the name being the Kelp Dome, the arena was shaped more like a square with rounded edges. A network of walls and uninkable glass containers formed a variety of pathways that evenly divided both side of the fields along with a series of raised grated walkways created paths over the walls, giving an advantage over anyone below. The central tower in the middle of the stage seemed like a good vantage point to see over the walls and fire more paint from a distance, making it a very sought after position. And if he concentrated hard enough, Sora could see the opposing teams starting platform and faintly saw the outlines of the Squid Sisters and Squid Girl, their opponents.

" **This is certainly a match that everyone has been waiting for** ," announced the commentator. " **After a brief hiatus from Turf Wars, the legendary idol duo, the Squid Sisters, have returned to splash the ink around once more.** " The audience exploded into another wave of cheers, flashing signs of Callie and Marie with little hearts. Callie waved her arms exuberantly, while Marie just gave a lazy wave; no one seemed to care that Squid Girl was with them. " **Yes, the energy is electric in the Kelp Dome today and I'll be here to give you the play-by-play details! I'm your leading commentator, Squidati Lola!** "

"Hey, does that guy sound familiar to you?" asked Penny.

"Yeah, but I can't put my finger on it," Sora hummed thoughtfully.

" **Today, Inkopolis' most beloved idols will be competing against the new ink from out of town,** " announced Squidati Lola. " **From parts unknown, it's Team Sora with Sora, Sun Wukong, Penny Polendina, and Velvet Scarlatina! These four are completely new to the scale of Inkopolis, but claim to have some experience on the battlefield. Will it be enough to score on the most popular duo in Inkopolis?** "

"I'm here too, you know–de geso!" Squid Girl shouted in annoyance.

" **Today's match will be a game of Splat Zones** ," Squidati Lola continued, acting like he didn't hear Squid Girl. " **For those new to the game, here are the rules: in the center of the stage is a specialized area – or a zone – that both teams must attempt to cover in their color. Once a team covers seventy-five percent of the zone in their ink, the zone will be 'captured' by the team. Once they capture the zone, a countdown clock will start for their team starting from one hundred. The first team to make their clock reach zero, or have the lowest number at the end of five minutes, wins.** "

"So it's like a game of King of the Hill," Sun summarized. "We just hold the field until the time runs out."

"We might have the advantage in numbers," said Velvet, "but you can tell that Callie and Marie have a lot of experience built up based on reputation alone. We should be careful of them."

"What about Squid Girl?" asked Sora; Velvet went oddly silent.

" **Is everybody ready?** " said Squidati Lola. " **Match starts in three…two…one!** "

The horn went off and Sora was the first one to bounce of the platform. He immediately went straight for the raised grated pathway over the walls for faster access to the center while Sun painted his way around the farthest path and Velvet and Penny took the ramp to jump over the right side wall. From his positon on the grates, Sora immediately spotted the yellow square that outlined the designated zone. Sora took a knee at the three-way intersection above the field, aimed through his scope, charged up his shot, and pulled the trigger. The recoil from the rifle nearly knocked Sora off the walkway; this gun had even more power than Crescent Rose. It filled him with immense satisfaction when her saw the long trail of red paint splattered diagonally across the zone until a line of green ink covered Sora's almost perfectly, effectively erasing all of his work.

Sora gapped in surprise, furrowed his brow, and took aim through his scope again when something clattered on the walkway next to him. The disguised human pulled out of his scope and looked to the left where he spotted what looked like a bottle of paint inside a triangular fastening. The object beeped slowly like it was on a timer; Sora immediately jumped to his feet and scrambled to get away from the device. Unfortunately, he couldn't get far away enough before the device exploded and splattered everything within the vicinity in lime-green paint. Sora was flipped over the edge of the walkway and landed on his back; the front of his suit dripping in purple paint, and the horn blaring in the background.

" **And Sora takes a hit from a Splat Bomb** ," announced Squidati Lola over the screams of the enthusiastic fans. " **That means he'll have to start all the way back at the respawn point before he can continue playing. This could cost his team a lot of points.** "

Sora rolled over on all fours and looked up to where the shots had come from. Marie waved down at him from the central down with a lazy, but cocky grin before she aimed her Hero Charger Replica down at the Splat Zone and fired off another line of green ink, now coating more than one third of the field in her color. Sora knew he couldn't continue wasting more time and made a dash for the starting point so he could get back into the game quickly.

Marie charged up her weapon and splatted the zone two more times in green ink, covering more than two-thirds of the field and starting their countdown timer on the scoreboard. But when the timer reached the ninety-eighth mark, it suddenly stopped when a barrage of moss-green ink pellet splattered the majority of the zone, undoing all of Marie's work and starting the countdown timer for Team Sora. The green Squid Sister looked around and rolled out of the way in time as Penny slowly marched around the corner, unleashing a relentless assault from her Heavy Splatling. Because her weapon needed time to charge, Marie couldn't return fire and was forced to drop down behind the central tower. The green Squid Sister briefly peeked around, and sharply pulled back as another barrage nearly took out her head – Penny was moving closer and Marie couldn't escape without being splattered.

"I am really loving this weapon!" Penny shouted enthusiastically over the sound of her Heavy Splatling. "I should really consider keeping it! It's so – "

"Incoming!"

Penny snapped her head, eyes wide with panic, as Callie rolled around the corner with her purple-dipped Hero Roller Replica painting the path in front of her. The Atlesian android tried to turn on her, but he had underestimated the weight of the Heavy Splatling and realized her movements were a lot slower than she had anticipated. Penny was helpless as the purple Squid Sister literally steamrollered over the android, painting her entire front in purple ink. Somewhere in the background, the air horn blew.

" **Ooh, Penny was just squished by Callie!** " said Squidati Lola over the cheers of the fans. " **Penny's gonna have to head back to the spawning point before she can get revenge!** "

Callie laughed gleefully as she rolled back and forth across the Splat Zone, covering the majority of the square in her royal-purple ink; Team Sora's clock stopped at the seventy-fourth mark and the Squid Sister's timer started again. Callie was now running in circles around the Splat Zone like a protective barrier when she spotted someone running along the raised walkway and jumped over the edge above her head. The purple Squid Sister immediately jumped back as Sun swiped her Inkbrush across the air, raining down splatters of yellow everywhere. Callie managed to avoid getting hit, but Sun's little stunt splattered just enough of the zone to cancel out the Squid Sister's control over the area and stop the timer at seventy-one. Sun landed across from Callie standing on one foot with his inkbrush raised over his head, kinda like those guys in the kung-fu movies he liked to watch back in Atlas.

"The brush by itself rules nothing," said Sun dramatically. "It only comes alive in skilled hands!"

"Ooh, are you quoting from Crouching Octo, Hidden Inkling?" asked Callie.

"Actually it's more like – "

Before the disguised monkey Faunus could finish his answer, he was suddenly hit by a torrent of lime-green ink and splattered across the wall; the penalty horn sounded through the Kelp Dome. Callie looked toward the source of the shot and spotted her cousin poking around the central tower, lowering her weapon.

"What the ink do you think you're doing in the middle of a match?" Marie chastised her cousin. "Get back before – " three glops of brown paint suddenly splatted Callie in the face " – that happens."

As the air horn sounded for Callie's penalty, Marie pulled back behind the central tower as Velvet bounced into view, shooting in rapid fire. The brown paint splashed very hard against the wall that flicks of the ink nearly sprayed the Squid Sister. The Splattershot Pro was a powerful weapon with a strong rate of fire, very bad for a charger without a higher vantage point. Despite the compromising position, Marie knew she couldn't afford to stay hiding or else the other members of Sora's team would be able to rally quicker. The green Squid Sister loaded up her charge, took a deep breath, and jumped out on the other side. The world seemed like it was moving in slow motion as Marie aimed down sight of her Hero Charger Replica, centering Velvet in her crosshairs, and pulled the trigger. The disguised Rabbit Faunus was slapped against the back wall, indistinguishable from the green paint that covered the surface; the air horn sounded.

" **Another amazing shot from Marie of the Squid Sisters!** " yelled Squidati Lola excitedly. " **With only two minutes remaining, this is turning out to be a most epic match! Go, Squid Sisters!** "

"Hey, I thought judges were supposed to be neutral!" Marie snapped her head back and looked up to see Sora on top of the central tower. The disguised human smacked himself in the face, realizing his mistake. "Ugh, this is why Sun keeps tell me I shouldn't run my mouth off in the middle of a fight."

"Worked out great for me," said Marie before she took aim.

The former scythe-wielder bounced back to the middle of the tower as Marie took a wide shot up at him. Sora crouched to prevent exposing himself while he charged his E-liter 3k scope when something slithered up the side of the tower and hopped into the air above his head. The creature looked more like a squid than the Inklings did with pointed head, two long clubbed tentacles, four shorter tentacles, and two large eyes that seem to be joined. Sora paused for a moment as he watched the bright-green squid fell and landed with a wet slap at his feet, wondering where the creature had come from. And then, without warning, the squid creature turned in place and somehow transformed into Marie. Sora yelped, caught off-guard by the sudden transformation, and accidentally slipped over the edge of the tower.

He landed on his back at ground level – thankfully unhurt – but quickly twisted out of the way when Marie dropped one of her Splat Bombs on top of him and it exploded with a splash of lime-green paint. Sora managed to avoid being splattered; spinning around to his knees, and aimed his charged shot straight between Marie's eyes. The green Squid Sister was able to duck under the shot, but the paintball did knock off her hat. Marie gasped in horror and glowered; she loved that hat!

Marie leaned over the edge again and aimed her sights on the red Inkling when she heard the familiar _ratatat_ of the Heavy Splatling. Marie rolled backward and pressed herself against the tower floor as Penny assaulted her from down below with an unforgiving barrage of moss-green ink. The Atlesian android had the Squid Sister pinned – she couldn't move without be splattered by the heavy gunner. Marie tried reaching for another Splat Bomb, hoping it would distract Penny long enough to escape, when –

"Incoming – again!" shouted Callie.

The purple-colored Squid Sister once again came around the corner streaking a trail of paint along her path as she made a dash toward Penny. The situation was very similar to the incident a couple minutes ago when Callie flattened Penny, but this time the Atleasin android was prepared. Run at the moment when Callie was about to roll over Penny, Sun suddenly jumped from above, landing in Callie's path, and swiped his inkbrush across the inkling's chest. Callie only just barely managed to raise her roller to block the brush with the bar, causing her to slide back several feet across the ink trail she made. Sun twirled the inkbrush impressively around himself, making a lot of overexaggerated kung-fu noises, and ending with a "bring-it-on" hand gesture. Callie looked more than eager to accept the challenge, but she felt the nozzle of a Splattershot Pro pressing against her back and raised her arms in surrender; Velvet smirked at her monkey counterpart.

Marie was watching the scene play out from the edge of the central tower when Penny finally ran out of ammunition and had to refill her ink supplies. Her cousin was being held at gun point by both Velvet and Sun, but they were choosing not to splat her because that would mean she would be sent back to the respawn point when they could easily detain her here. While Penny was off refilling her Heavy Splatling, this was her chance to pull Callie out of the fire. Marie aimed her reticle directly on target with Velvet…and then heard a gun cock in her ear. Very slowly, Marie pulled out of her shot and looked up to her right; Sora was standing only inches away with the barrel of his E-liter 3K Scopes at her head.

"Looks like it's game over, Marie," said Sora victoriously.

Marie stared at him with a hard look…and then she smirked.

"You're right," admitted Marie. "It is game over."

Sora looked at the green-themed Squid sister and couldn't understand why she seemed so happy about it. That's when the siren sounded throughout the Kelp Dome and the audience jumped up in cheers; Sora staggered around in surprise while Marie casually stood up, brushing off her dress.

" **And that's game over, ladies and Inklings!** " yelled Squidati Lola excitedly. " **The winners are…the Squid Sisters!** "

"Wait what?" Sora stammered in confusion, looking at the timer on the scoreboard. "Wait, we still have forty-nine seconds left."

" **Look at the countdown clocks, kid,** " answered Squidati Lola.

Sora took a second look at the scoreboard at the insistence of the commentator. While Team Sora's countdown clock was still stuck at the seventy-four mark, the Squid Sister's timer had dropped to…zero? Sora pivoted on his heel and looked down at the Splat Zone, only now realizing that the entire square was completely splattered in vibrant-blue ink. And standing in the center of the square looking mighty proud of herself was –

"Squid Girl?" said Sora stunned.

"Bwahaha!" Squid Girl cackled conceitedly. "You have all been crushed by my superior splatting skills-de geso! Let it be known that I, Squid Girl, the emissary of Inkopolis, have soundly defeated my enemies-de geso! Bwahaha!"

"Except we were the ones that made up the plan while you hid around the corner," Callie interjected; Squid Girl went silent all of a sudden.

"I literally did not see that coming," said Sun.

"We were so focused on fighting Callie and Marie, that we completely forgot our objective," said Penny.

"I guess it's hardwired into our brains at this point," admitted Velvet.

"That was some pretty smart thinking," Sora complimented them as he and Marie hopped down to join them. "I didn't even think about Squid Girl missing from the game. That really bit us in the butt."

"That how we usually win these matches," said Callie. "Everyone is so busy looking at us that they completely forget about Azul, so she can cover the most area without ever getting caught. We call it our sneaky-sneak plan."

"We don't call it that," said Marie sharply; Callie pouted.

Sora looked at the blue-haired Inkling and couldn't felt feeling proud of Squid Girl. He had the sense that she wasn't very well-liked by the citizens of Inkopolis, but after seeing Squid Girl clench the match for her cousins, he had a feeling that everyone was going to be treating her a little differently from now on; she certainly looked happy herself. The human disguised as an Inkling was about to walk over and congratulate Squid Girl when a sudden uproar of noise came from either side of the Kelp Dome. From both end, hundreds of crazed Inkling fans were rushing the stage, flashing signs of the Squid Sisters, but also new and crudely drawn posts of…someone – Sora couldn't honestly tell.

Squid Girl smirked prideful as she stepped up to the approaching crowd.

"Now, now, one at a time-de geso!" said Squid Girl, sounding almost conceited. "There's enough Squid Girl for – "

"Outta the way, loser!"

The rampaging mob knocked Squid Girl away like a ragdoll, sending her flailing onto the opposite side of the zone. Callie and Marie gasped with their hands over their mouths in worry when their poor cousin slapped unceremoniously in her own paint, splashing her pristine white dress in blue. Before the Squid Sisters could even take a single step to help their cousin, they were blocked off by a wall of excited fans, all of them screaming for autographs, selfies, and marriage proposals (Marie slapped them for the latter, but they seemed to enjoy it anyway). Sora had a good feeling that they wouldn't be able to make it to Squid Girl and opted to go in their place, but Team Sora was suddenly blocked off by their own swarm of screaming fans.

Sora staggered back into his teammates in surprise – where did they all come from?

"That was so cool! You almost beat the Squid Sisters!"

"I never saw Callie and Marie get pushed back like that! You guys must be super awesome!"

"I saw your match earlier today! You were totally different from back then! How did you do it?"

"Uh – uh – uh – " Sora sputtered; he was confused and speechless.

"Was that a Splattershot Pro you were using? Is it any good?"

"How'd you move your Inkbrush like that! It was a kung-fun movie!"

"You were totally rocking with that Heavy Splatling!"

As Team Sora and the Squid Sisters were pelted with a seemingly endless source of compliments and questions, Squid Girl slowly sat up from her ink puddle, droplets of blue paint dripping off her hair in an almost pathetic sense. She just couldn't understand it. She was the one that got the win; she was the reason why her cousin earned the victory, so why was everyone paying attention to them and not her? And on top of that, why was Sora and his friends suddenly more popular than she was – they lost two matches today. Squid Girl bit her bottom lip, forcibly holding back the stinging sensation in her eyes, and slammed her fist into the blue puddle, spraying her dress even more – not that anyone noticed or care.

"It's not fair…," Squid Girl mumbled in a small voice, sniffling.

* * *

 **This chapter was surprisingly easier to write for me compared to any of the pother chapters I wrote before – the only time I hesitated was when I was researching the weapons and the stages. I think this may turn out to be my favorite world because it's the first time Sora's team has been to a fun world for a change instead of something serious like before. It won't be as excessively violent or heavy in angst as the previous worlds, though there will still be an emotional factor. The comparison between Squid Girl's situation and the treatment of the Faunus was unintentional, but I think it will serve as a good lesson for Sora in the future.**

 **Anyway, please read and review.**


	28. The Splat Zone-De Geso, Part 2

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Splat Zone-De Geso, Part 2**

It took a lot of patience (like ten boats full of patience) along with a lot of handshaking and autograph signing before the Inklings would leave them alone; Sora's hand was seriously cramped at this point that he could barely close his fingers. In just one match against the famous Squid Sisters, Sora and his friends had become instant celebrities. It was apparently a rare occasion that anyone managed to get a hit on either Callie or Marie, who was purportedly so good at Turf Wars that they purportedly went on hiatus because they were winning too easily. So when they returned to Inkopolis Plaza and saw the replay of their Splat Zone match on the Squid Sister's new building, it was hard for Sora not to act so smug.

"Pretty great match, huh?" said Sora haughtily. "Not bad for a bunch of newbies, huh?"

"Careful, your ego's showing," said Penny warningly.

"The way you guys played," said Marie, "I seriously doubt any of you are newbies. Those were some professional grade moves; the kind that you can only do through years of training and practice….You guys hustled us, didn't ya?"

"What? No, of course not," sputtered Sun nervously. "I mean, yeah, we've had practice with weapons before, but we were totally telling the truth when we said that was the first time we used splatter weapons."

"What other kind of weapons are there?" asked Callie, titling head in confusion. "This world has only ever used paint-based weapons for the last hundred years since the Great Turf War. If you haven't used splatter weapons before, then what have you been using?"

Sun's mouth was open, but nothing was coming out. He turned to his teammates, but Sora was apparently entranced by a pair of shoes in the Shrimp Kicks window, Velvet was looking around whistling nonchalantly, and Penny oh-so conveniently just got a phone call even though her Scroll was turned off. The monkey Faunus disguised as an Inkling nervously looked back at Callie and Marie, both of whom were crossing their eyes and staring him down with mutual looks of suspicion. Sun tried opening his mouth again and hoped that words would come out, but only resulted in a few nonsensical strangling noises. The Squid Sisters were narrowing their eyes and stepping closer, cornering the disguised Faunus. Sun looked like he was about to break under their united glare when he tilted his head to look around them and called out:

"Hey, Squid Girl, you okay?"

Their faces filled with concern, the Squid Sisters finally let up the third degree and refocused their attention on their cousin, much to Sun's relief. The blue-haired Inkling had seated herself on a bench nearby with her head hanging down and kicked a pebble on the ground pathetically. A couple of Inklings walked past behind her, clearly saying something mean in hushed voices so that only she could hear if Squid Girl's scowl was any indication. The blue-haired Inkling jumped off the bench and kicked another pebble as hard as she could, but ended up missing by a lot and ended up falling on her back. The Inklings laughed, much to Squid Girl's embarrassment. Callie and Marie glared and decided now was the time to step in.

"All right, that's enough out of you two," said Marie forcefully, shoving the Inklings away. "Go on; get out of here before I sell your tentacles as wigs."

"Are you all right, Azul?" asked Callie worriedly as she helped Squid Girl stand.

"All right? Why wouldn't I be all right-de geso?" said Squid, crossing her arms and huffing. "It's not like I won the Splat Zone for our team and was totally ignored for it-de geso. I'm not bitter at all. Not in the least-de geso."

 _She's totally bitter_ , everyone shared the same thought.

"Well, to be fair, no one knew you were playing to begin with," said Marie, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

"…I'm going home-de geso," mumbled Squid Girl rigidly, stomping away angrily.

"Azul!" Callie called out, then turned to her idol partner. "Marie, what the ink were you thinking telling her that?"

"What? I was just being honest," Marie admitted. "You're always getting on my back about not being honest enough, and now you're giving a hard time about being too honest? Make up your mind, Callie."

"That's not what I – ugh! Never mind!" Callie grunted in frustration. Then she turned on Sora and the others, folding her hands almost in a pleading sense. "Could you follow Azul home and make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble? She tends to get into some…sticky situations whenever she's upset. Most of them end with her on the end of someone's splatter gun."

"We'll watch out for her," Sora promised.

"Good luck," said Marie teasingly. "I get the feeling you're gonna need it."

Sora and the rest of team of disguised Inklings waved them off as they followed Squid Girl down an alley leading to the more residential areas of the city. But once the heroes turned the corner and were out of sight, Callie and Marie's smiles dropped and were immediately replaced with worrisome frowns.

"Have we heard anything from the scouting parties lately?" asked Marie seriously.

"One came in this morning just before the morning announcement," answered Callie. "It's just like we suspected, those monsters seem to be coming from Octo Valley. The Squid Force and the Splash Mob have been managing to keep those things from getting out of the valley, but it doesn't look like they're even trying to escape. Reef thinks they're looking for something."

"Probably has something to do with why DJ Octavio's been going missing a lot," said Marie. "That old octopus is up to something; I can feel it in my tentacles."

"Well, until we figure out a way to get rid of those monsters," said Callie, the best thing we can do now is keep pretending that nothing bad is happening; the Inklings would go into a panic. And I'm also worried about Azul's new friends. You know they're not normal."

"They don't seem like bad people," said Marie sagely. Even as she said that, she pulled out a white surgical mask and pulled it over her mouth. "But it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on them, would it, Agent 1?"

"Already on it, Agent 2," said Callie, throwing on a pair of sunglasses.

* * *

 _ **Ding!**_

The elevator doors opened. Squid Girl stepped out into the lobby of the apartment complex's top floor with Sora and the others staggering closely behind, crossed somewhere between nervousness and wonderment. Just from the outside of the apartment alone, you could tell that the building was reserved only for the richest in Inkopolis – they even had a doorman out front that bowed politely to them while he did his job. The lobby was cleaned and polished so immaculately that Sun got down on his hands and knees and looked in his reflection in the floor just to check if he had anything in his teeth (he found a piece of lettuce he didn't remember eating). There was a golden squid fountain in the middle of the lobby, benches on both sides, and a pair of polished oak doors leading to the penthouse. Squid Girl trudged over to the door, but stopped before she walked in and started taking off her shoes.

"Make sure you take off your shoes before you go inside-de geso," said Squid Girl, putting her shoes on the nearby rack. "Marie's very anal about taking shoes in the apartment and she will splatter you into next week if you get any on the floor-de geso."

"Uh, right," said Sora slowly before he too started removing his footwear.

Once everyone's shoes were on the rack, Squid Girl took out the apartment key from her pocket, unlocked the door and walked inside. Sora and the others went in after her, suddenly stopped at the threshold as they took in the penthouse apartment.

"Whoa…," said Sora in awe.

Completely contrasting from the stylish and prestigiously clean lobby outside, Squid Girl and the Squid Sister's apartment was the kind of place you would expect a bunch of fun-loving celebrities would live in. The round foyer was painted with a ridiculous amount of color that had no style or pattern to it and just looked like the squid cousins had taken they splatter weapons and just painted the walls at random; even the twin curving stairway leading to the second level was a different color each step. In the middle of the foyer between the matching staircases was a statue of the three squid cousins each striking a pose with their splatter weapons (they had also painted the statues personally in their mess of colors). There were three hallways that led to different parts of the penthouse – one that looked like it led to a lavish kitchen complete with sterling utensils and state-of-the-art equipment, one hall that led to an indoor spa and sauna, and a hall that led to an entertainment room complete with a fifty foot television screen. And in almost every part of the apartment, nearly every inch of wall and ceiling was splattered with random blots of paint done personally by the squid cousins; Sora thought it added a nice personal touch.

But while walls were a colorful mess, there were still a bunch of pictures hanging on the walls that mostly depicted Squid Girl and the Squid Sister over the ages. The one picture that drew Sora's attention immediately was the small, almost plain wooden frame on the left side wall. The spiky-haired human disguised as an Inkling moved closer for a better look. The wooden frame looked homemade by the crooked nails sticking out of the sides, but it looked like it was the most cared for since the picture was so well preserved even though it was clearly old.

The photograph depicted Squid Girl, Callie, and Marie as children, all of them so adorably small with bright, happy smiles. Callie tentacles were so much short and unbelievably messy with the longest one hanging over her left ear; she looked like a tomboy as opposed to her girly self now. Marie's hair was equally short and seemed to spike in four different directions, but her expression was so filled with glee that Sora had a hard time imagining that Marie could ever smile in such a way. And Squid Girl's hair was just as short as her cousins that her zigzag tentacles hadn't even reached her shoulders yet, but she was still wearing her fin-shaped hat that made her stand out. All three of them looked like they were attending a festival in matching yukatas with Callie holding up a golden trophy, Marie carrying a certificate, and Squid Girl was holding a microphone between them. They looked so happy and carefree….

"That was taken during the Sushi Festival in Calamari County-de geso," Squid Girl piped in. Sora nearly jumped out of his skin; he nearly forgot she was there. "Me, Callie, and Marie were born and raised in Calamari County with Grandpa Cuttlefish before we moved to Inkopolis-de geso. That was the first time we ever sang together – the Fabulous Squid Sisters started in Calamari County where we used to sing during festivals-de geso. The villagers loved to hear us sing and said we could become famous big city idols some day- de geso."

"Wait, you used to be in the Squid Sisters?" asked Velvet, blinking in surprise. "Why aren't you with them now?"

"It was really hard for three girls from the countryside to make it big in Inkopolis-de geso," said Squid Girl with a tired sigh. "No one would take us seriously because of our accents – they thought we were just a bunch of country bumpkins-de geso. We all had to get jobs at Walleye Warehouse, which was the worst place in the world-de geso. Marie hated it so much that she actually burned her uniform when we quit-de geso. We spent months there in hipping and packaging duties until we got into Turf Wars-de geso. Marie and Callie were so awesome at it that all the major labels were beating down our door to sign them-de geso."

"But because you weren't any good…," said Penny slowly with a sympathetic look.

"It's not enough to be a good signer in Inkopolis-de geso," said Squid Girl. "Winning Turf Wars is what really matters-de geso. All the awesome players get major endorsements and get invited to the best teams like the Squid Force or the Splash Mob-de geso…. But since I was never as good Callie or Marie, the label wouldn't sign me-de geso. They almost turned the offer down, but I couldn't them throw away an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me-de geso. Not when they worked so hard to get here."

"You're a good person, Squid Girl," said Sun, placing an appreciative hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing. I'm sure one day everyone will realize just how awesome you really are, and then they'll be begging you to join them."

"Oh, I have no doubt about that-de geso!" said Squid Girl, suddenly acting confident. "Once I find the legendary treasure, I'll have every Inkling kissing my sneakers-de geso!"

"Legendary treasure?" Team Sora asked curiously in unison.

"Yeah, the legendary treasure-de geso!" said Squid Girl, suddenly spinning around and running up the stairs. "C'mon, I'll show ya-de geso!"

Sora and his friends chased the excitable Inkling up to the apartment' second level where they had to go through a labyrinth of hallways just to get to the next room over (the penthouse was ridiculously huge, almost cartoonish). They eventually stopped at a single, unimpressive door with a tiny sign made from a slip of paper and scrawled in untidy lettering that was completely illegible even if Sora did know how to read Inkling. But when Squid Girl pushed the door open inward and stepped inside, the boy from the islands really learned that appearances were very deceiving.

Though not as large or grand as the rest of the apartment, Squid Girl's little room was nonetheless impressive. Literally hundreds of shelves lined the four walls that reached as high as the ceiling fifteen feet above their heads, some of them made of wood, others from strong glass, some were plastic, and a couple were made of solid steel – none of them seemed to be in any particular order. And even more impressive was that almost all the shelves were decorated with trinkets of every kind. There were some Inkopolis memorabilia like a complete set of Squid Sisters records, posters and bobble heads, but there were some items that looked like they didn't even belong on this world such as the giant pair of red scissors, a Japanese arcade token, a ragged headband with a metal plate, and a skeleton mask.

"Pretty cool, right-de geso?" said Squid Girl when she saw their awestruck faces. "These are all the treasures me, Callie, and Marie have been collecting over the years-de geso. We think they might have washed up here from other worlds that don't exist anymore-de geso."

"Wait, you know that there are other worlds?" asked Penny surprisingly.

"Of course, how else would these things end up here-de geso?" said Squid Girl knowingly. "Every once in a while for the past few years, something new washes up on the shores near Octo Valley and we end up finding them during our patrols around the valley borders and bring them here-de geso. Callie and Marie think they came from other worlds that had been destroyed and ended up getting swept up in the sea of stars-de geso."

"I don't think they're wrong," said Velvet, pointing to one of the treasures. "That's the Scissor Blade used by Ryuko Matoi at Honnoji Academy, and that's a token Mikoto Misaka used to carry in Academy City, and that's a shinobi headband from Konoha, and that looks like a festival mask from Death City. These are all worlds that have been destroyed since the Cataclysm."

"Hey, check this out," said Sora, reaching for one of the lower shelves and taking a single piece of paper. "This is a page from Akari's book. Hey, Squid Girl, mind if I have this?"

"Go ahead," said Squid Girl, shrugging her shoulders. "I found that one just the other day-de geso. It doesn't really seem that valuable and it's not a Sunken Scroll, so you can keep it-de geso." Sora smiled gratefully and pocketed the page; Squid Girl spun around on her heel, taking it the many wonderful treasures she had been blessed to find. "You know, someday I'm gonna leave Inkopolis and see what's out there-de geso. I wanna go out and see other worlds-de geso. Does that sound strange-de geso?"

"No, not at all," said Sora. "I used to feel the same way."

"Used to?" asked Squid Girl curiously.

"I mean – I still do," said Sora quickly.

"Smooth, man," Sun whispered sarcastically.

"Did you say something about finding a legendary treasure," said Penny, hoping for a quick change of topic.

"Oh, I almost forgot-de geso!" said Squid Girl, like she suddenly realized what she had come in here for. She walked over to one of the shelves stocked with ragged-looking scrolls and pulled out one. She unrolled the scroll and showed it to her new friends. On the faded old parchment was a painting of what they assumed to be a shiny ball. "This is the Ocean's Pearl – an ancient artifact created by the first Inklings over ten thousand years ago when the sea levels first started rising-de geso. According to the Sunken Scrolls, it was supposed to be a peace offering from the Octarians to the Inklings during the first Giving Thanks Day feast back when our two species still liked each other-de geso. It was lost during the Second Flood, but I think I figured out where it is-de geso."

"You did?" asked Sun with his bow raised. "But you don't seem like the smart type of squid."

"I'm totally smart-de geso!" snapped Squid Girl.

"So where do you think it is?" asked Velvet, wanting to avoid a fight.

"Well, after comparing the Sunken Scrolls with modern day maps-de geso," said Squid Girl. "I figured out that the Ocean's Pearl is in the fifth area of Octo Valley, near the Octarian's underground domes-de geso. If we find the Ocean's Pearl and bring it back to Inkopolis, I'll be a hero-de geso! Er…I mean we'll be heroes-de geso," she added weakly in response to everyone's pointed stares.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Sora. "Maybe we should wait for your cousins – "

"I've gone to Octo Valley on my own plenty of times and I always turn out fine-de geso!" Squid Girl said with confidence. "C'mon, we gotta find it before Callie and Marie get back home from work-de geso! They're gonna be so surprised when I – I mean, we – bring back the Ocean's Pearl-de geso!"

"Oy, Squid Girl, wait up!" yelped Sun as the little Inkling ran out of the room.

Sora and the others quickly gave chase after Squid Girl, none of them ever noticing the small red eye that had suddenly appeared on the back wall, staring at their fleeing backsides.

* * *

Somewhere in the deepest, darkest pits of the Octarian's underground world, DJ Octavio watched the flicking image of Sora, Squid Girl, and the rest of the world traveling heroes with contempt. The octopus king made a bubbly snarling noise and swatted one of his tentacles through the image, predictably passing through the projection and ended up slapping himself in the face. Zeref, who had been the one to provide the projection with his magic, chuckled amusingly as the Octarian ruler struggled to rip the suckers off his cheek and made several black ring marks when he succeeded.

"Grr, those slimy little hipsters think they can come into my house and take ma stuff!" howled DJ Octavio. "Ooh, just let me at 'em! I'll dubstep them into oblivion!"

"Now let's not be hasty, Octavio," said Zeref calmly. "Their little scavenger hunt could end up working in your favor."

"How ya figure that, bruh?" asked DJ Octavio.

"The Grimm have been unable to leave the borders of Octo Valley because they are too weak," said Zeref. "The Grimm feed on negative emotions such as fear and hate. But Inkopolis is a sunny place filled with happiness and fun – the Grimm are practically starving. We need something that will spread anger and panic among the Inklings so that the Grimm can draw strength from it…and that girl could help us achieve that." he added, zooming in on Squid Girl's image.

"How's that long-haired hippy supposed ta help us?" asked DJ Octavio curiously.

"The Inklings already dislike her because she is different," said Zeref coolly. "But the line between dislike and hate is blurred. All it takes is one event to tip the scales. And then, when Inkopolis is brimming with hate and the girl is lost in sorrow, that is when you and your Octarians will make your final play."

"Ah…I see where ya going with this," said DJ Octavio. "Ya really are a bad man, Lord Zeref."

"So I've been told," said Zeref, smirking as he stared thoughtfully into Squid Girl's image.

* * *

Sora slowly put one foot in front of the other along the narrow, green-painted rail, trying very hard not to look down at the hundred foot drop into nothingness.

After Squid Girl had decided for herself that she was going to hunt down the legendary treasure, the unique Inkling had lead Sora's team to a manhole in the alley behind their apartment and hopped in without a second thought. Sora and the girls were reluctant to jump in (Sun didn't have that problem), but plugged their noses and followed them quickly before Squid Girl could get too far ahead. They were pleasantly surprised to know that the 'sewage' was just pink ink and smelled like a fruity mixture – Inkopolis really was the greatest place in the universe, Sora thought. After Squid Girl led them through a labyrinth of pipes, the team came out of a tea kettle in Octo Valley.

The valley looked more like an impressively large canyon that opened up into a bottomless pit, which would be less carry to look at if Sora were on more solid grounds. Here and there were structures that looked like they had once been the top of very large buildings like those in Mid-Childa or Atlas, but had gone to waste after centuries of misuse and neglect. Anything that had been salvageable about the buildings had been converted into something better conditioned using whatever people could find, such as large powerline wires and thousands of stacked crates and boxes. There were some traces of plant life throughout the valley, but nothing that could make this place anywhere close to the prosperity of Inkopolis. And perhaps the worst part about the Valley (in Sora's opinion) was the fact that the only way between the buildings was the thin rails made of ink.

Sora threw out his arms again when he started leaning too far to the left, only barely regaining his balance. The human disguised as an Inkling took a deep breath, put his foot forward again, then finally skipped over the ledge of the next building when he reached the end of the rail. Sora leaned forward using his knees to support himself as Velvet kindly rubbed his back. Penny was on her back, groaning, while Sun was literally hanging around by his tail (thank Oum Squid Girl didn't question why an Inkling had a tail). The blue-haired girl looked up from her map, blinking curiously at the team.

"Hey, you all right-de geso?" asked Squid Girl.

"Yeah…we're fine…," panted Sora. "Walking on rails…no sweat."

"Why didn't you just use your squid form and slid along the paint-de geso?" asked Squid Girl.

"Because…," said Velvet, her brain working quickly to think of an excuse. "Because it wouldn't be fair to you. You can turn quid form either, and we'd feel really bad if you had to do it all by yourself."

"Oh, that's so nice-de geso," said Squid Girl brightly as she returned to her map. Sora and the other's let out a sigh of relief; she actually bought it.

"So…what is this place?" asked Penny interestingly, walking over to the low wall and leaning over.

"It's Octo Valley, duh-de geso," aid Squid Girl like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, I mean, what is this place?" Penny repeated. "Who made these buildings and why do the look so…run down?"

"Dunno-de geso," said Squid Girl, never looking away from her map. "It was tens of thousands of years ago before Inklings and other sea creatures evolved to live off land. Some of the Sunken Scrolls me, Callie, and Marie found think that the species before the Great Flood built these buildings a long time ago, but weren't smart enough to fix them because they had small heads. They also seemed very religious because they regularly worshipped Gods like Xbox, Nintendo, and Playstation."

"That's sounds oddly like…," said Sora strangely.

"Let's just keep that to ourselves for now," Velvet whispered to Sora.

"You said that the Octarians live down here, right?" asked Sun, also joining Penny at the ledge. "This doesn't look like the safest or the most stable place to set up shop, especially when you compare it to Inkopolis."

"The Octarians were forced to live down here after they lost the Great Turf War," said Squid Girl, finally looking over her map and checking the area. "With the rising sea levels eating away at most of the land, the Octarians had to build underground domes connected by the kettles you see around the buildings to escape drowning. Even after the war, the Octarians have been trying to take over Inkopolis for a long time. They've only gotten more desperate lately since they started losing electricity and their domes have started to become weak."

"Wait," said Sun, spinning around and looking aggressive, "so you're saying the Octarians were forced into this horrible place by the Inklings and nobody is doing anything to help them?"

"Easy, Sun," said Velvet calmly, gently grabbing his arm. "We can't go making a scene here."

"I know, it's just…," said Sun, breathing a heavy sigh of regret. "It just reminds me of Menagerie. Even after the Faunus helped the humans – "

"I can see how the situation might seem similar," said Velvet seriously, "but Menagerie is gone along with the other ninety-five percent of Remnant. There's no point in getting upset over problems that don't exist anymore, otherwise you'll be no better than the White Fang."

"Yeah…yeah, you're right," said Sun reluctantly.

While Velvet comforted her fellow Faunus in disguise, Sora turned to Penny and asked:

"What was that all about?"

"Just some problems from our old world," answered Penny. "Let's just say that there were certain Faunus who did not take their discrimination well and took more…active means of forcing equality. Probably the one good thing about losing Remnant is not having to worry about _**them**_ anymore."

This was one of the many times that Sora realized how little he knew about his friends lives before the destruction of their world; what little he did know came from the brief snippets of conversations he overheard. The treatment of Faunus seemed to be the biggest topic, though from the way Velvet described it, it sounded like they issue had almost disappeared the moment Remnant was swallowed by the Grimm. But even if the problems on Remnant were gone, their issues seemed to echo on Inkopolis, comparing their treatment of the Octarian's poor living conditions and how the Inklings seemed to cast out Squid Girl…who Sora just realize had jumped over the ledge.

"OH CRAP!" Sora yelped in unison with his teammates. "SQUID GIRL!"

"I'm okay, guys-de geso!" Squid Girl's voice echoed from below. Sora and the others leaned over the ledge, looking down at Squid Girl waving from a roof below. "Get down here-de geso! I found the Ocean's Pearl!"

"Well, that's unrealistically convenient," muttered Sun blandly.

Sora and his team hopped over the edge and launched themselves over the small gap to the lower rooftop. Unfortunately, Penny's misleading appearance made them forget that she was made from two hundred pounds of steel and wires, which combined with the weak support structure of the building, caused the ledge she landed on to crumble. Sora, Sun, Velvet, and Squid Girl each shot forward and grabbed one of her arms; the sudden pull of her weight nearly made them fall over as well. But Sora and the others grounded their feet into the rooftop cement, being conscious of the cracks so as not to put any pressure on them, and slowly dragged their mechanical friend back up to safety. They all let go when Penny was lying flat on the cement, making the other floor fall on their backs, panting from exhaustion.

"You…need to go…on a diet…de geso," Squid Girl wheezed.

"I'll…keep that in mind," said Penny awkwardly.

"It wouldn't hurt," said Sun, standing up and cracking his back.

"Is that the Ocean's Pearl you were talking about," Velvet asked suddenly, pointing to something across the rooftop.

Sora followed the rabbit Faunus' line of sight to something that looked like an old, rusted machine erected in the middle of the rooftop like a small tower with four tubes coming out of either side and disappearing into the building below. The machine was so poorly maintained; dents of the size of watermelons were bashed into the paneling, the metalwork was rust over so far that it looked like it could break apart at a mere touch, and there was a clear sign of many failed attempts to repair the machine based on shoddy patchwork of street signs and wooden boards. A small slot was open in the front of the machine that showed the Ocean's Pearl inside, glimmering brightly in the sparse rays of the sun. Sora thought he could hear the machine humming when they walked up to it, which made Sora a little anxious about taking it.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Sora worriedly.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be-de geso?" asked Squid Girl as she stepped up to the machine.

"I dunno," said Sora honestly. "It just seems like it's something very important. Maybe we shouldn't touch it."

"I agree," said Penny, nodding. "Maybe we should just get back to Inkopolis before Callie and Marie get back."

"I didn't come all the way to Octo Valley just to walk away empty handed-de geso!" snapped Squid Girl.

The stubborn, blue-haired Inkling reached inside the slot with both hands and pulled with all her might, but the Ocean's Pearl wouldn't budge out of its space. So Squid Girl decided to press both her feet against the side of the machine, and pulled again, this time successfully dislodging the sparking jewel from its container. The blue-haired Inkling flopped on her back with the Ocean's Pearl still in her hand, but when she tried to raise the jewel up, she found herself struggling to even lift it a couple inches off the floor. Squid Girl glowered, flipping around, standing to her feet, and once again tried to lift the Ocean's Pearl off the ground with both hands. Her arms and knees were shaking as she barely managed to lift the astonishingly weighty object by two feet at the very least; sweat dripping from her brow and her teeth clenched tightly.

"So…heavy…de geso," Squid Girl grunted, walking only two paces forward before she finally dropped. "Ugh…a little help here-de geso?" Penny reached down and picked up the Ocean Pearl with one hand like it weighed nothing. "Thanks-de geso."

"No problem," said Penny, shrugging her shoulders. "This is unusually heavy for its size; rather odd for a piece of jewelry. I wonder what the Octarians were keeping it for."

"Hey…do you guys hear something?" asked Velvet, staring around curiously.

Everyone went silent and listened for what Velvet was referring to. The first thing that Sora noticed was that the machine was no longer humming – was the Ocean's Pearl powering it, or something? The second thing that came to his attention was that Octo Valley had fallen in an unnatural state of hush; the buzzing of the tangled power lines, the hissing of the giant kettles, and the whipping of the propels that supported the flying boxes – all the noise just suddenly stopped. And then…subtly, but sure…they heard a soft whistling sound getting closer and louder.

"Sora, look out!" yelled Sun.

The disguised monkey Faunus tackled his partner out of the way before one of the flying crates fell on the area where he had been standing, smashing into hundreds of wooden pieces. Both of them lying on their backs, Sora and Sun heard an ominous creak and tilted their heads back. One of the powerlines from the building across the gap snapped its cables and started falling towards them. Sora and Sun scrambled to their feet, throwing themselves across the rooftop as the power lines smashed through the edge of the building, freefalling into the bottomless chasm below. The men took a moment to catch their breath, but the girls looked around Octo Valley in horror as everything seemed to be collapsing upon itself. Team Sora and Squid Girl winced painfully when the giant UFO floating in the midle of the valley smashed through one of the nearby buildings, sending the whole thing plummeting into the abyss.

"Squid Girl, what did you do?" screamed Velvet frantically.

"I-I-I don't know!" Squid Girl stammered.

"The Ocean's Pearl!" Penny shouted over all the chaos. "This all started when we removed the Ocean's Pearl! It's an energy source.

"Well, then put it back!" yelled Sora.

"Well, you don't have to be rude about it!" said Penny.

"PUT IT BACK!" Sora, Squid Girl, Sun, and Velvet screamed in unison.

Penny flinched at the synchronized shouting, quickly pivoting on her heel, and made a break for the energy machine. She successfully dodged the crates falling from the sky like rain and reached the machine with little problem. The Atlesian android slowly started to insert the Ocean's Pearl back in its slot when a bullet of dark fuchsia ink flew over Penny's shoulder and splattered across the machine surface, making the android stumble back in surprise. Penny spun before she was assaulted in a hailstorm of dark fuchsia ink, covering her from head-to-toe in the ink. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and fell backwards in defeat – the Ocean's Pearl rolled out of her hand and stopped near the precarious edge of the building.

After watching their teammate get downed so fast, Sora, Squid Girl, and the other dived behind the crates that had broken from the fall before they were bombarded in a dark fuchsia storm. Sora waited until the bombardment had stopped before poking his head out. There were dozens of…people, I suppose I the word Sora would use, even if it wasn't truly accurate. They looked more like anthropomorphic tentacles with large googly yellow eyes, enormous purple lips, and very small feet. They didn't have any hands, which made it all the stranger considering they were driving small, conical hovercrafts with wide nozzles. One of the tentacle creatures turned his craft at Sora's exposed head and pelted him with dark fuchsia ink, but the disguised human pulled back in time to avoid it.

"It's the Inklings!" Sora team heard the tentacles yelling. "They're taking the Ocean's Pearl! Somebody splatter them!"

"Are those octopus tentacles…with faces?" asked Sun strangely, peeking around the crate before pulling back quickly. "And just when I thought I had seen it all."

"You act like you've never seen an Octarian before-de geso," said Squid Girl, pulling out her Splattershot. "C'mon, we gotta get the Ocean's Pearl back-de geso."

"But it's what's been giving power to Octo Valley," said Velvet with uncertainty. "We can't just take it. We should just let the Octarians have it."

"Do you think any of them are smart enough to fix this mess-de geso?" asked Squid Girl.

Sora, Sun, and Velvet shared a curious glance to one another, then slowly rose to their feet and peeked over the crate they were ducking behind. While some of the Octarians were still shooting in the general direction, others seemed to have lost control of their vehicles and were spinning it circles, splattering everything in the vicinity; one of the Octarians ended up spinning himself off the edge of the building. It was a sad fact of the matter that despite having some pretty strong tech on them, they weren't all that smart enough to use it properly. Sora, Sun, and Velvet slowly slipped back down; Squid Girl hot them a knowing smirk.

"Okay, so you may have a point," said Sora.

"Okay, so here's what's gonna happen-de geso," said Squid Girl as she confidently pumped her squirt gun. "I'll take 'em out while you guys get the Ocean's Pearl-de geso."

"Er…why don't you get the Ocean's Peal and we'll take care of the Octarians," Velvet suggested quickly, chuckling nervous.

"Huh? How come-de geso?" asked Squid Girl.

"Because um…it's the most important job," said Velvet, nearly stumbling over her words. "You shouldn't waste your time with fighting these silly Octarians. You're the one who found the Ocean's Pearl, so it should be your duty to put it back. You're the only one that can do it."

"Well, when you put it that way-de geso," said Squid Girl, turning her nose up proudly. "I guess it only makes sense that the great and magnificent me would handle the most important part of the mission. And since I am such a gracious leader, I'll let you take care of the Octarians for me."

"Since when is she our leader?" Sun whispered to Sora.

"Just play along – it makes things easier for us," Sora answered in a hushed voice.

"I personally have no trouble with this plan," said Penny, suddenly appearing beside her team covered in paint splatters.

"Penny! You're alive!" shouted Sun in surprise.

"I was hit with paintballs, not bullets," said Penny bluntly. She picked up her Heavy Splatling, spinning the barrels threateningly. "And I would like to pay our dear friends the Octarians back for that. If you feel like joining me, then please feel free."

The Atlesian android stood up straight, glaring menacingly over the crate even as the paintballs came flying at her face, only missing by inches. She walked out around the cover, her Heavy Splatling humming with power, and began a slow march toward the Octarians. The living tentacles were shooting every bit of their ordinance (which seemed to be infinite by this point), but their aim was so terrible, it was amazing that they had even managed one or two shots on her. Once she was within a decent enough range, Penny grounded her feet, hefted her Heavy Splatling up, and jammed her finger on the firing trigger. The Octarians were bombarded in a hailstorm of moss-green paintballs, scattering the animated tentacles with bubbly screams of panic. Penny's aim was no better than the Octarians given the weight of the Heavy Splatling, but she made up for it with the sheer number of ammunition. A couple of the more dimwitted Octarians (if that was even possible) actually ran into Penny's range of fire and drenched in moss-green ink.

It looked like Penny had them pinned down at first until a new group of Octarians suddenly rolled in, this time with heavy-plated shields covering their fronts. Despite her best attempts at break down the shields with an endless bombardment, Penny's Heavy Splatling just wasn't capable of penetrating their defenses. The Octarians chuckled behind their shields before they open fired on the poor android, hitting her square between the eyes – these Octarians were smarter than the usual brood. Penny rolled backwards from the impact, dropping her Heavy Splatling. As she sat up, Penny had to readjust her eye sockets that had been knock off-kilter by the shots, by turning them like knobs (and even by Sora's standard's that was just plain weird).

So while Penny was trying to correct her vision, one the shielded Octarians turned his nozzle at the android, aiming through the gap in his shield when –

"Didn't your octo-mamas tell you it's not nice to splatter ladies?" said Sun playfully.

The yellow false-Inkling had suddenly popped up in the Octarian's sights with the gap, making the Octarian fall off his hovercraft in surprise. The other shielded Octarians heard their comrade yelping and quickly turned Sun. The disguised Faunus clung to the face of the hovercraft's shield as the Octarians bombarded him with dark fuchsia paint while he reached behind his back and whipped out his Inkbrush. And with a cocky grin stretching his Inkling face, Sun flipped on top of the shield, standing precariously on the edge, and leaped over to the next shield. Sun landed on top of the Octarian's shield, crouched low to get right up in its face, and then slapped it across the face with his Inkbrush. The shielded Octarians started to turn on him, but he just moved on to the next one, performing the same method, and then on to the next.

Meanwhile, Squid Girl watched with her mouth open in awe as she watched the yellow Inkling bounce around between Octarians like no one else had ever done before. He was so nimble and agile – he kind of reminded her of those weird hairy creatures with the tails she had once seen in a Sunken Scroll. What were they called again…? Squid Girl was sharply dragged out of her thoughts when Velvet pulled her back by the scruff of her dress as another group of Octotroopers took a shot at her head. Velvet poked her head out from behind their hiding place and shot two quick bursts from the Splattershot Pro, accurately nailing the Octarians between the eyes.

"Keep your head down!" shouted Velvet, taking her own advice when more Octarians fired on her. "You make a run for the Ocean's Pearl while I cover you!"

"But you just told me to keep my head down-de geso!" yelped Squid Girl.

"Yes, keep your head down and grab the Ocean's Pearl!" said Velvet, peeking over the cover and splatting three more Octarians.

"But isn't than kinda contradictory-de geso?" asked Squid Girl smartly. "Keeping your head down implies that I should stay low and hiding behind cover-de geso! But running for the Ocean's Pearl would mean that I an neither low nor hiding behind cover, so – "

"Just go already!" Velvet snapped impatiently.

The disguised rabbit Faunus poked her head from out behind the cover once more and shot up the Octarians with uncanny accuracy. And while Velvet was distracting the animated tentacles, Squid Girl made a dash for the precious edge of the building where the Ocean's Pearl was very, very, _very_ close to tipping over. But just when the blue-haired Inkling was only a few feet away, a splatter of dark fuchsia ink appeared at her feet, making her screech to a halt. Squid Girl immediately dived for cover (which turned out to be the energy machine) as another powerful splatter hit the ground where she once stood. She cautiously poked her head around the machine, looking towards the higher rooftops, and just as quickly pulled her head back, narrowly avoiding another shot.

"Octosniper-de geso!" cried Squid Girl.

Up on the higher rooftops overlooking Octo Valley, a single Octarian equipped wearing specialized laser-sight goggles sat on chairs with blowgun attachments aimed towards the battlefield. Through his laser-focused sights, the Octarian locked Velvet in its crosshair when she poked her head out again to shoot off more of the Octotroopers. The Octosniper took a deep breath and blew into the tube, shooting a single paintball at furious speed across the skyline. The paintball splattered in Velvet's face, throwing her on her back and tossing her weapon away. He then turned his seat to the opposite rooftop as Sun continued to bounce between the Octarians, swiping his Inkbrush through their ranks with ease. The Octarian waited patiently for a long minute…then he fired and hit Sun squarely in the chest, sending the disguised monkey Faunus flailing across the rooftop.

The Octosniper surveyed its hunting grounds once more, locating each of the Inklings and queuing in their situation. The green Inkling and the brown Inkling were hiding behind the crate, both weaponless, as the Octarians endlessly pelted them with ink. The yellow Inkling picked himself up and was running around in circle, trying to shake off his pursuers – he'd snipe that one again afterwards. The strange blue Inkling was hiding behind the energy machine and was closest to the Ocean's Pearl, meaning she was the bigger issue. That just left –

 _ **THWIP!**_

The Octosniper stiffened, his eyes bulging, as a single red paintball smacked him between the eyes. The Octosniper's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell over sideways off his chair (a bit of an exaggeration since it was just paint, but what can you do). The one that shot out the Octarian was the team's own sniper, Sora. The red Inkling was lying flat on his stomach on another high building directly across from the Octosniper, peering through the scope of his E-Liter 3K. He grinned with satisfaction knowing he made the shot, and then turned scope on the Octotroopers chasing Sun. Sora waited until his crosshair was on the Octarian leading the pod before taking the shot – the hit connected and the leading Octarian fell backwards, toppling over the others like bowling pins. Sora spun around toward Penny and Velvet. Instead of sniping the Octarians, Sora took two shots at the Velvet and Penny's ink weapons, knocking them to their owner's feet. The girls wasted no time picking up their rifles and immediately returned fire, sending the Octarians scattering once more.

"We're in the clear, Squid Girl!" Sora shouted from across the valley. "Now grab that pearl so we can fix this mess and get out of here!"

"On it-de geso!" Squid Girl replied with a salute.

With Team Sora keeping the Octarians effectively pushed back, the blue-haired Inkling made another attempt for the Ocean's Pearl. She was only a short distance away…she was so close…she reached out her hand to grab the treasure…but her foot reach it first…sending the Ocean's pearl flying over the edge. Squid Girl froze, mouth agape and eyes as wide and round as plates. Sweat dripped from her brow as she dropped to her hands and knees, slowly peering over the edge and staring down into the bottomless abyss. Yep, as expected, the Pearl was officially gone.

Squid Girl crawled away from the ledge and turned her head to the rest of the team, her facial expression still frozen in nervous panic. Everyone on the battlefield from Team Sora to the Octarians shared a similar look on their faces, staring at Squid Girl as if silently asked: 'What have you done?' A long, pregnant pause of silence passed over Octo Valley broken only by the brief bellows of wind that passed through the broken windows and busted walls. And then, Squid Girl finally spoke up:

"Uh…oops-de geso?"

"The…the Inklings just threw away the Ocean Pearl," one of the Octarians muttered, almost like he was trying to convince himself otherwise. "They…they threw away…our only source of power…."

"I am so sorry," Velvet apologized immediately. "I'm sure it was a complete accident – "

"You darn, dirty Inklings!" shouted another Octarian. "Why did you have to go and do that? Haven't you stolen enough from us already?"

"Hey, man, we didn't know!" said Sun defensively. "And besides, you were the ones that attacked us! We were just trying to put it back!"

"Liars!"

"Thieves!"

"You killed us all!"

"This will not go unpunished!" shouted the leading Octarian. "Get them!"

Team Sora and Squid Girl drew their weapons as the Octarians came at them in unified group when a pair of Splat Bomb suddenly dropped down from out of nowhere, landing in the course of the Octarians. Before the animated tentacles could stop themselves, the bombs exploded and splattered blobs of lime-green and purple ink everywhere. The ink explosion knocked the Octarians off their hovercrafts, leaving them on the ground groaning in confusion and pain. Team Sora and Squid Girl lowered their weapons, blinking in confusion, when two figures suddenly jumped down in front of them.

Both of them were definitely Inklings, but they were wearing disguises to conceal their identities. The Inkling on the right wore a lime-green baseball cap, lime-green shirt, and a white face mask while her partner wore a pink beanie with a star on the side, dark sunglasses, and a pink turtleneck. Both of them were carrying a Hero Charger Replica and a Hero Roller Replica respectively. Sora and his teammates looked at one another, still at a loss for what to think, while Squid Girl clasped her hands and cheered:

"It's Agent 1 and Agent 2-de geso! The heroes of Inkopolis-de geso! Oh my ink, this is so awesome-de geso!"

"Octarians!" said Agent 2 seriously, cocking her charger. "Return to your domes at once before anyone gets hurt!"

"You don't have any right to stop us, Agent 2," said one of the Octarians, glaring at the masked heroes. "That Inkling menace just lost the last source of power the Octarians had left. Now we're going to lose all our power and die!"

"I'm sure it was just a mistake," said Agent 1 calmly. "If you give us time, I'm sure we can find a replacement – "

"We don't want a replacement, we want justice!" shouted the Octarians and his comrades yelled in agreement. "First you take our land, then you force us underground, and now you take what little power we had left. We're not going to stand for this anymore. Once we tell DJ Octavio, he will declare war on your stinking Inklings! Mark my words; Inkopolis has seen its final days!"

The Octarians all shouted in agreement before they turned on their tiny feet and ran in the opposite direction. Agent 1 and Agent 2 lowered their weapons, frowning. A war between the Inklings and the Octarians was the last thing they needed on top of everything else. Agent 1 and Agent 2 walked back to Sora and the others, lowering their heads seriously.

"Hey, um…thanks for the…save…," said Sora slowly.

The masked agents of Inkopolis ignored Sora as they walked by, stopping in front of Squid Girl and staring her down with menacing looks. Squid Girl, one looking up to Agent 1 and Agent 2 admirably, now quivered in fear under their gaze.

"Squid Girl…," said Agent 1 slowly.

"You really screwed up this time," said Agent 2 darkly.

* * *

Inkopolis was bustling with activity as it usually does, but none of it was happy or cheerful this time. Nearly a hundred Inklings were all standing in the middle of Inkopolis Plaza, many carrying expressions that were mixed between confusion, worry, and even scared. They were all craning their heads together looking up at the giant monitor above the Squid Sister's studio when the Inkling Idol duo appeared on the screen, neither one looking remotely pleased to be broadcasting (though you could hardly tell the difference with Marie). For the first few seconds, the Squid Sisters stood in silence before Callie took a deep breath and spoke:

" _ **Attention to all who live in Inkopolis**_ ," said Callie in an unnaturally formal tone. " _ **This is the Squid Sisters coming to you live from Inkopolis Studios with a very urgent report. As of forty minutes ago, a group of Inklings wandered into Octo Valley and accidentally lost the Ocean's Pearl, which was the property of the Octarians.**_ "

" _ **For those of you who don't know,**_ " said Marie, " _ **The Ocean's Pearl was a treasure given to the Octarians by Inkopolis's ancestors. It's what gave power to the underground domes in Octo Valley, but now that the Ocean's Pearl is gone, they don't have any electricity left to run the place.**_ "

" _ **Several minutes ago, the Octarian king, DJ Octavio,**_ " Callie continued, displaying a picture of the Octarian king, " _ **has sent a declaration of war to Inkopolis Studio, warning all Inklings that they will be attack the city soon enough.**_ " The Inkling crowd broke into panicked chatter and murmurs. " _ **Please, please, everyone calm down! We're trying to resolve the situation as best we can, but there is a likely possibility that the Octarians will be attacking.**_ "

" _ **When that happens, we need every available Inkling to be armed and ready to fight,**_ " said Marie. " _ **I'm not gonna lie to you, this could end up getting messy, but as long as we have the Great Zapfish on our side, our chances are good.**_ "

" _ **But don't let your guard down,**_ " said Callie firmly. " _ **It's been a hundred years since the last war, but the Octarians are still a grave threat to Inkopolis. So whatever you do, don't get careless. As we speak, the Splash Mob and the Squid Force are holding the line in Octo Valley, so that should give everyone a chance to prepare. But above all, make sure to stay safe.**_ "

" _ **We'll update you on all the events as soon as they come,**_ " said Marie. " _ **Squid Sisters, out!**_ "

The screen went straight to black without either of the Squid Sisters signing off with their catchphrase, which made the gathered Inklings even more concerned – it was a sign of just how serious the situation was.

Meanwhile in Inkopolis Studio, Callie and Marie heaved a great, depressing sigh as they walked off set and slumped into their chairs nearby; Callie leaned her head back staring at the ceiling while Marie buried her face in her hands. At the same time, Team Sora and Squid Girl were watching the plaza through the studio windows. The once chipper Inklings were now scrambling in every which direction, shouting for new armor and weapons to prepare themselves for the inevitable Octarian Invasion. The shop keepers were quickly running out of supplies and were getting chewed out by the Inklings when they no longer had any stock, and the Inklings that didn't want to fight were throwing themselves in the nearest hiding spaces like the sewers and mailboxes. It was a real mess.

"Man, we really screwed up this time," murmured Sora.

"And this coming from the people that once orchestrated an entire prion breakout," said Penny.

"So what do we do now?" asked Velvet in concern.

"Now we have to get ready to fight a war, thank you very much," Marie hissed at them. "You just had to go wandering around Octo Valley and losing their power source."

"They didn't know, Marie," said Callie defensively. "It was an easy mistake that anyone could have made."

"Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing-de geso!" said Squid Girl, facing her cousins with a serious expression. "We need to get those dirty Octarians before they get us first! I say we sneak back into Octo Valley, take out DJ Octavio, and make the Octarians give up – "

"You've already started one crisis, Azul," said Marie impatiently. "We don't need you causing another."

"What she means to say is," said Callie kindly, though glaring at her blunt cousin, "we don't want you getting hurt, Azul. Maybe it would be better if you just stayed here."

"I can't let other people get hurt for my mistake," said Squid Girl. "As Emissary of Inkopolis, I –

"YOU'RE NOT EMISSARY OF INKOPOLIS!" Marie screamed, jumping up and throwing back her chair. Callie and Squid Girl gasped while their gray-tentacle cousin gritted her teeth; she finally snapped. "THAT'S NOT EVEN A REAL THING! YOU JUST GO AROUND TALKING ABOUT SO STUPID POSITION THAT DOESN'T EXIST TO MAKE UP FOR THE FACT THAT YOU SUCK AT EVERYTHING IN LIFE!"

"Marie!" Callie chirped in shock.

"EVERY TIME, EVERY INKING TIME, WE HAVE TO CLEAN UP YOUR MESSES!" Marie continued uninterrupted. "YOU ALWAYS CAUSE SOME KIND OF TROUBLE AND WE'RE EXPECTED TO CLEAN UP AFTER YOU BECAUSE WE'RE COUSINS! THAT'S WHAT YOU THOUGHT, RIGHT? WELL, GUESS WHAT: **WE'RE NOT COUSINS! WE WERE NEVER RELATED! YOU'RE NOT EVEN ANY INKLING! YOU'RE JUST SOME RANDOM EGG THAT GRANDPA FOUND ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD ONE DAY AND BROUGHT YOU HOME OUT OF PITY BECAUSE NOBODY WANTED YOU –** "

"MARIE!" Callie screamed.

The lime-green Inkling snapped her head, glaring at her cousin, but Callie shook her head and gestured for her to look back at Squid Girl. And when Marie turned her head back to the blue-haired girl, her anger and frustration washed away and was replaced by an overwhelming feeling of guilt in her stomach. Squid Girl's breathe hitched, her shoulder's shook, and her sunny-blue eyes were spilling with fresh tears running down her cheeks. Marie covered her mouth with a horrified gasp when it finally caught up to her what she had just said.

"Oh my zapfish," Marie spoke it a terrified whisper. "Oh my – Azul…Azul, I didn't mean – "

She reached out to touch her, but Squid Girl slapped her hand away. The blue-haired girl spun around and ran out the door, sparks of tears trailing in her wake.

"Squid Girl!" called Sora as she moved to go after her.

"Hold it right there!" Callie commanded, causing Team Sora to stop in their tracks. The purple-themed Squid Sister walked over and held her cousin supportively, who was still staring in the ground in horror. "You four have already done more than enough for everyone. I think it would be better if you leave, and I don't just mean the city. You should leave our world as soon as possible.

"W-what are you talking about?" Sun sputtered.

"We know you're not Inklings," said Callie coolly. "We knew it the moment you told us your names. We weren't sure at first, but once we figured out that you were ID Masks, we knew who you all were. Another human came to our world not long ago and told us that you might come here."

"Someone warned you we were coming?" asked Sora in surprise. "Who?"

"Don't know," said Callie. "She had long blonde hair, red eyes, and had a metal arm."

"That sounds like…," muttered Penny softly.

"She warned us that you would come looking for DJ Octavio," Callie continued. "We know he has allies from other worlds, but you can't just attack someone like DJ Octavio and not expect consequences. He is the king of the Octarians and attacking him would give the Octarians a reason to go to war with the Inklings. Not that it matters anymore. But what's worse is that you had to drag Azul into your mess."

"Hey, we didn't drag her into – " Sun started to argue until Sora threw his hand out to silence him.

"Look, we're really sorry," Sora apologized.

"Sorry isn't going to fix anything," said Callie with an uncharacteristically cold stare. "I'm grateful that you've all been good friends to Azul, but if you don't leave Inkopolis at once, I swear to the Great Zapfish that I will bury you so deep in Ink, you'll be permanently stained in tie-dye."

The finality in her tone left her no room for argument. Callie turned her cousin around and embraced her, patting her head softly, and Marie finally broke down in tears when the reality of everything finally came crashing down. Sora said nothing as he shared sad stares with his teams and, with their heads hanging low, left the studio.

* * *

Outside the boarder of Inkopolis was a scenic Cliffside that overlooked the Octo Valley several miles below as the sun started to descend over the horizon, casting a warm reddish-orange glow across the sky. Normally this would be a place where Squid Girl would come to watch a private sunset with her cousins…back when she still believed they were her cousins.

No matter how hard she wiped her eyes with her hand, she couldn't stop to flow of tears spilling over. She was used to the sneers and jeers of other Inklings because of her difference and lack at gaming skills, but she could always depend on Callie and Marie to pick her up when she fell. But…listening to Marie shouting like that…telling her that she wasn't family, wasn't an inkling, wasn't wanted….Squid Girls chest felt so tight, it was almost like she was suffocating. She had preserved through her hard life in Inkopolis thinking positively…but there was nothing positive about this. She had nothing, she was nothing…she was….

"…all alone," Squid Girl said in a watery mutter. "I'm…all alone…de geso."

"My, my, the poor little girl done got her heart broken. So bad, so sad."

Squid Girl gasped and jumped up to her feet as something slithered over the edge of the cliff in front of her. The massive form of DJ Octavio crawled his way up with a wet _slap,_ his golden helmet glittering in the dying sunset with his arms crossed – the glowing green 'X' scar prominent on his left tentacle. Squid Girl took a cautious step back and bared her teeth.

"DJ Octavio," spat Squid Girl. "What do you want-de geso? If you think you can sneak up on Squid Girl, you got another thing coming-de geso!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, chillax, lil' girl," said DJ Octavio, waving his tentacles in surrender. "I ain't come to rumble with ya. I just came ta see if you were feelin' aight."

"Why do you care?" asked Squid Girl suspiciously.

"Cause I know what you be going through, girl," said DJ Octavio. He slithered around on his tentacles until he was next to her, wrapping one tentacle around her shoulders. Squid Girl didn't move, but she didn't let her guard down either. "Ya see, you and I aren't that much different. You, me, the Octarian – we all getting' bullied by those nasty Inklings, getting picked on an' havin' our stuff taken 'cause they think they can. They think they better than us, and they love shovin' it in our faces. They're a nasty bunch o' cephalopods."

"Not all Inklings are like that-de geso," said Squid Girl defensively, shoving his tentacle off. "Sure, there are a bunch of jerks, but there are plenty of good Inklings too-de geso."

"You mean like your cousins – I mean, former cousins?" said DJ Octavio, grinning secretly. "The ones who yelled at you for making an honest mistake? The ones who lied to you your whole life, makin' ya think that you were an Inkling and you were their cousin? That seems pretty cruel to me."

"I'm…I'm sure they had their reasons-de geso," said Squid Girl, rubbing her arm nervously. "I'm sure it's just because they didn't want me to feel left out-de geso."

"But ya heard your fake cuz – she said nobody wanted you," DJ Octavio reminded her. "When I bet happened was that they kept you around 'cause you was a joke to them. I bet they laughed at ya when your back was turned, laughing about the little squid who thought she was an Inkling. Whenever they cheered you up after losing a match, they were actually laughing at you on the inside. Why else wouldn't they tell you who you really are? It seems a little strange that they wouldn't want you to know about yourself or where you came from."

"I…I…it's just….maybe…," said Squid Girl, but her voice trailed off when she realized there wasn't any excuse why they wouldn't tell her. "You…you don't really think that's true…do you-de geso?"

"I'm real sorry, lil' girl," said DJ Octvaio sympathetically, patting her shoulder with his tentacle. "I know personally what it's like ta be betrayed by someone you trust. It was the same thing with me an' Capt. Cuttlefish."

"You knew grandpa-de geso?" gasped Squid Girl.

"Shoot ya, we were best bros," said DJ Octavio. "We always did everything together – fishing, splatting, ringing the neighbor's doorbell and leavin' a bag o' paint on the front porch. We were bros fer life…and then he betrayed me. Forced me and the Octarians below ground while he and the Inklings got to live in their big fancy city."

"That's not fair-de eso," muttered Squid Girl.

"You're right, it ain't," said DJ Octavio. "But let's not worry about my problems. Let's worry about yours. You're not an Inkling – your cuz made that real clear – but doesn't that make you wonder where you came from? Make ya curious 'bout who you really are?" Slowly, Squid Girl nodded. "Yeah, I bet it does. You wanna go see other worlds and find your real fam, dontcha? Well, that shouldn't be too hard. After all, your new friends came from another world."

"They what?" gasped Squid Girl.

"Yep, they lied ta you too," said DJ Octavio. The blue-haired girl hanged her head while the Octarian king wrapped his tentacle around her shoulder once more. "I'm so sorry, girl. I know it must hurt, and I know you don't think you can trust me, but think about this for a moment – I haven't lied to you now have I?"

Squid Girl stared down at the ground for a moment and lost herself in thought. Her cousins – former cousins – had lied to her, Sora had lied to her, but DJ Octavio had been nothing but honest with her from the start. If she wasn't overcome with desperation and sorrow, she might have wondered how the Octarian king knew so much and why he was being nice to a complete strange in the first place. But all she could think about was Marie's words repeating over and over again in her mind: **WE'RE NOT COUSINS! WE WERE NEVER RELATED! YOU'RE NOT EVEN ANY INKLING!**

Squid Girl's brow furrowed and she turned to the Octarian king.

"How do I get to other worlds-de geso?" asked Squid Girl determined.

"I've done ma fair share of traveling, so it shouldn't be too hard," said DJ Octavio, grinning victoriously. "But first, I need ya to do me a solid."

* * *

 **This chapter isn't as action packed as I was hoping to make it, partly because any Grimm would have been too weak to put up a real challenge since Inkopolis is a happy and fun world, but this recent event will make them strong enough to become a real threat in the next chapter. But mostly, I wanted to build up the relation between Squid Girl and the Squid Sisters, emphasizing more on how important they are to each other as a family and how Callie and Marie turning on her would deeply hurt Squid Girl. Putting that on top of finally understanding why she is so different from the other Inklings and knowing that her cousins aren't really her family, Squid Girl's life begins to spiral out of control.**

 **In the next chapter, the war between the Inklings and the Octarians finally comes to a head as the Grimm finally attack the city, DJ Octavio comes face-to-face with Team Sora, and Squid Girl finally confronts her cousins and makes a choice that could change her future forever.**

 **So until next time, please read and review.**


	29. The Splat Zone-De Geso, Part 3

**A/N: Please read until the end for an important notice.**

 **Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Splat Zone-De Geso, Part 3**

Inklings of every color in the rainbow blurred in Sora's vision, bumping and shoving one another trying to get to where they needed to go; some of them slipped underneath the chaos in cephalopod form to avoid the traffic, only to run into others who had the same idea. Shops were closing up fast when they could no longer meet the demand of the public, including the post office (which served no real purpose in the coming war other than the fact people were suddenly buy stamps). And when Booyah Base had closed down its last shop, that's when Inkopolis's defense system came alive. Heavy automated ink turrets appeared out of hidden holes on the outer edges of the buildings, long tank guns slid out of the mouths of the tanuki and fox statues, and the sun was briefly blotted out by an ink-fueled zeppelin. Sun whistled impressively.

"Wow, these guys don't hold back," said Sun, leaning back and staring up at the floating war ship.

"I still can't believe this is happening," said Velvet, shaking her head mournfully. "Inkopolis is supposed to be a happy place for fun and games, not war."

"This is what happens when we meddle in the affairs of other worlds," said Penny strongly. "My father warned us something like this would happen and we failed to listen to him. Looking back, all we have ever done is meddle in other people's businesses when we should have been focusing on our own mission instead. Deadman Wonderland, Yamatai, and even Mid-Childa. We should have left well enough alone."

"But if we never did anything, people would have been worse off," Sun argued. "All those inmates would still be wrongfully imprisoned, Sam would have been killed by an evil sun queen, and Scaglietti would be destroying the universe right now if we hadn't stopped him. The way I see it, meddling saves people – just ask the meddling kids."

"And today it started a war," said Penny pointedly. "We should take Marie's advice and leave before we cause any more trouble."

"We can't just leave people in the lurch after we got them into this mess," said Sun firmly. "We have to see this through."

"We have our mission!" snapped Penny.

"We're good guys!" retorted Sun.

"SHUT UP!" Sora shouted at the two of them. Penny and Sun wisely shut their mouths, taken aback by the outburst. "As leader of this team, I say we stay here, but not because we caused a war or anything like that. It's just…Squid Girl got really hurt when Marie yelled at her like that. She looked so…heartbroken. The Inklings can take care of themselves – they look like they're more prepared for a fight than we are – but I'm not leaving until I know Squid Girl is okay. After all, she is our friend, right?"

Sun and Penny locked eyes with one another as if speaking telepathically to one another when their frowns shifted into knowing smirks and nodded in agreement; Velvet placed a hand over her heart and sighed in relief, grateful she didn't have to break up another fight between them.

"Yeah, you're right," Penny admitted.

"Squid Girl's our friend," Sun agreed.

"Okay, now that that's settled," said Velvet perkily, clapping her together. "Our next order of business is to find Squid Girl and cheer her up! Let's go!"

The rabbit Faunus disguised as an Inkling pumped her fist into the air to emphasize her enthusiasm; Sora, Sun, and Penny repeated the motion with a cheer.

Meanwhile, as every other inkling was running around like tuna fish with their heads cut off (not the best phrase to use in front of a passing school of tuna children), Callie was pulling overtime trying to get everything organized for the imminent battle. The magenta-themed idol had a Hero Roller Replica over her shoulder and a clipboard in her hand as she pointed out the various things that needed to be done to the clueless Inklings.

"We need snipers with E-liter 3Ks on the southwestern rooftops overlooking the battle dojo," Callie instructed to a pair of SWAT styled Inklings, who nodded and ran off. "We're placing Ink Mines as the first line of defense and then Splash Walls as secondary defenses. Have Inkstrikes ready for long range bombardment." She told a few members of the Squid Force, who saluted and ran off. "And will someone please give Spyke his pants back!"

"Hey, I'm cool with it, mate," said Spyke the Urchin lazily.

Callie palmed her face and shook her head, trying to look anywhere but the pantless sea urchin. Her golden eyes momentarily went back to the checklist to see that all of Inkopolis's preparations were nearly complete when her eyes wandered over to a solitary bench and the Inklings secluding herself from the rest of the city. Marie had been staring at the ground with her head in her hands ever since her regrettable outburst at Azul and was not making any progress on recovering. Callie's shoulders sagged as she stared at her depressed partner and cousin. She could sympathize with Marie, but Inkopolis needed both of the Squid Sisters to raise moral and lead the Inklings for the coming fight. So Callie handed off the checklist to Judd the Cat asking him to take over and walked over to her cousin, nearly to level with the green-themed squid and resting a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

"Hey…you okay?" asked Marie in a soft voice.

"…I just screamed at our innocent cousin's face and made her run away in tears," muttered Marie somberly. "What part of that makes you think I'm okay….Oh zapfish," she pressed her hands over her face, muffling her voice. "Why? Why did I say that? How could I say that? I told her we're not family. I told her that nobody wanted her. Oh my zapfish, what in the Octo Valley was I thinking saying something like that?"

"I' sure you didn't mean it – " said Callie.

"I did mean it," Marie interjected, lifting her face out of her hands. "Don't get me wrong, I love Azul from the bottom of my three hearts, but sometimes she can be so…frustrating. She's always causing trouble for everyone and we always have to be the ones to clean up her messes. It's just that…sometimes…I wish I didn't have to worry that one day Azul might cause a problem that we can't fix. Like today."

"So…does that mean…you wish grandpa never found her?" asked Callie worriedly.

"No – well, I mean, sometimes, like when I really angry," said Marie, frowning. "But whenever that happens, I always have this."

Marie reached into her pocket and pulled out an old, worn-out photograph; Callie leaned over her cousin's shoulder for a better look at it. It was the picture of Callie, Marie, and Squid Girl in their younger days back in Calamari County, the night when the three of them won the Sushi Festival talent show – the same photo that hanged from the their apartment wall. Callie leaned against her cousin and smiled softly.

"I remember that night," said Callie reminiscently. "The Calamari County Squid Sisters won first prize and year's supply of fried shrimp – Me, you, and Azul ate the whole thing in less than a month; Grandpa Cuttlefish was so mad cause he didn't get to try any when we hid it from him."

"Things were so much simpler back then," said Marie sadly. "We didn't have to worry about Turf Wars, or record deals, or Splatfest concerts, or Octarian wars. We just worked in the rice paddies in the morning, played in the mountains in the evening, and sang about whatever we wanted into the night. Things were so much easier before we moved to Inkopolis. Sometimes…I wish we could just go back."

"Hey," said Callie softly, settling a gentle hand on top of her cousin's. "When this is all over, why don't we all go on a vacation back to Calamari County – just the three of us? We can visit Grandpa Cuttlefish and see the old gang again. We can even visit our old singing spot on the hill overlooking the village. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"You make it sound so simple," said Marie, but nonetheless managed a small smile. "But yeah, I think that'd be great. If only we can manage to convince – Azul?" She stared across the plaza in surprise and Callie looked in the same direction. Both of the Squid Sisters could see their blue-haired cousin walking through the Inkling crowd, brow furrowed with determination. "Azul? Where's she going?"

Callie and Marie took themselves out of their little pity party and decided to follow the blue-haired squid person (for lack of better definition since she's not an Inkling). Squid Girl ambled through the colorful crowd of Inklings not stopping to talk to anyone (not that they wanted to talk to her) until she finally broke through and walked up to Inkopolis Tower. Callie and Marie came tumbling out of the horde just as Squid Girl stepped into the elevator, pushed a button, and the doors closed off before they could make eye contact. The Squid Sisters dashed up the ramp and tilted their heads back, watching the transparent cylinder soar up to the observation deck.

"She's headed for the Great Zapfish," Callie noted. "What's she doing up there?"

"I have a really bad feeling about this," murmured Marie.

Callie and Marie chased after their blue-haired cousin…but first they had to wait for the elevator to come back down.

Sora looked around the Plaza ten minutes later after the commotion had finally settled and all the Inkling had been given a position to hold for when the battle started. Penny, who was the only person with any _real_ military experience (Sun was too lazy to pay attention in Atlas) made numerous comments that despite some flaws in their formation, the Inklings had established a good defensive. The front line was made up of Splatlings and Sloshers for farther reach and maximum damage while the Shooters formed a line behind them for buck-up and everyone who had a roller weapon would be the last line of defense. There were at least two dozen chargers that positioned on the rooftops in a perfect position to snipe the Octarians before they reached the city limits. And of course, the bright green zeppelin with its six massive ink cannons hovered ominously over Inkopolis. Even if the Octarians were serious about attacking them, Sora thought, they would be hard pressed to make it even a foot inside the city; these Inklings knew how to defend themselves well.

As so the Inklings held their positions and waited – waited until the Octarians finally poked their tentacle faces over the horizon and they could splat them full of ink. But if Sora was being honest with himself, he didn't think that the Octarians would be attacking right away. They just lost their only power source, which means it was probably going to take some time before the anthropomorphic tentacles could scrape together weapons and an army for an invasion. Of course, the Octarians weren't Sora's real concern – he was looking for Squid Girl.

Sora's team hadn't seen their blue-haired friend pacing to Inkopolis Tower like the Squid Sisters did in all the confusion and had been searching for what must have been hours by now. After a long and extensive search through the city, Sora and the others reconvened in Spyke's alleyway (the sea urchin still hadn't put any pants on, which made Sora and Velvet feel really uncomfortable).

"She wasn't a Booyah Base," Sora reported. "I checked with some of the shop owners and they hadn't seen her since this morning."

"I searched their apartment," Penny informed them. "It doesn't look like she went back for any of her things and the doorman didn't see her walk in either."

"Couldn't find her at the news studio," stated Velvet. "Though it retrospect, it was highly doubtful she'd go back there."

"And I looked high and low in all the Turf War arenas," said Sun. "The mall, the skate park, the warehouse, the Kelp Dome – all of them are clean…well, not exactly clean, but you know what I mean."

"We've searched practically everywhere," said Velvet, sounding worried. "You don't think she went back to Octo Valley, do you?"

"Where the Octarians will shoot her on sight?" said Penny, shaking her head. "Even Squid Girl's not that clueless."

"Well, maybe we should start looking through the alleyways and underpasses," Sun suggested. "She couldn't have just disappeared off the world…unless she found our ship. I hope to Oum she didn't find out ship."

His friends continued to talk back and forth over the possible hiding places where Squid Girl might be at without really making any progress in their search. It was all starting to become annoying to Sora, who sighed inwardly, linking his hand together behind his head, and staring up into the clear blue sky. Everything was spiraling out of control; Inkopolis was supposed to be a place filled with fun and happiness and in less than a day, Team Sora had already dragged the entire city into a war with the Octarians. Maybe Penny was right. They shouldn't have meddled in the affairs of other worlds, even if they were trying to help.

Sora watched absently as a flock of several dozen birds flew over the Inkopolis skyscrapers, cawing loudly over the ominously quiet city, flapping their wings as they were about to pass the Inkling's defense zeppelin. The human disguised as an Inkling followed them with his eyes when the birds flew around the side of the airship…until they suddenly spun around and dive-bombed into the surface of the blimp. The birds punctured one side of the zeppelin with their beaks, came out the opposite end, then turned around and repeated the motion. With well over several dozen birds ripping through the fabric over and over again, it wasn't long before the airship's balloon started to crumple and the vehicle began to dip into the outskirts of the city. And with their job seemingly over, the birds started to fly away, but not before Sora managed to get a good look at one of their faces…and the white bones masks that covered them.

"Nevermores!" shouted Sora, pointing up to the sky

The other Inklings turn their heads at Sora when his voice broke through the silence and followed his hand to the air. A lot of worried muttering passed through the ranks when they saw their defense zeppelin crumple over one of the skyscrapers like a discarded bedsheet (thankfully the flight crew walked out unharmed). But when the flock of small Nevermores curved around in the air and started freefalling towards the ground, the Inklings quickly pushed the matter aside and started shooting down the winged Grimm; no one even bother to question what the monsters were in the first place.

The winged monsters swiveled and turned through the barrage of paint pointed at the sky, though many of the Nevermore never got further than the Inkopolis skyline before they were splattered in one of a hundred colors and exploded out of existence. Sora was still clueless on the concept of how the creatures of Grimm could be destroyed by paint, but he wasn't going to question their good fortune. The few Nevermores that breached the Inkling's aerial defenses slowed their speed down as they approached the ground before they started swiping their talons and shooting their feathers at the nearest Inklings. While these attacks would have seriously hurt normal people, the Inklings seemed to have developed an invulnerability to harm and were only knocked on their backs by the Grimm's attacks. Some of the Inklings on standby rushed to help their friends and shot the Nevermores at point-blank range, blasting them into nothingness, thought there was one Nevermore that was smart enough to fly away before it could be hit and watched the Inklings splat each other instead. The sole Nevremore started flapping its wings towards the sky when –

 _ **THWIP!**_

A single shot from an E-Liter 3K obliterated the Nevermore before it could fly past the battle dojo. The shot came from one particular human disguised as a red Inkling as he lowered her rifle to his side.

"How did the Grimm get inside Inkopolis?" Sora asked, turning to Velvet. "I thought you said the Grimm couldn't survive on this world."

"Inkopolis is in a state of war now," answered Velvet simply. "Thousands of Inklings are scared and confused. And when you combine that with the Octarian's anger and hatred towards the Inklings as well as their misery from their current living conditions, it's only natural that the Grimm would be attracted by all this negativity. This is exactly the same thing that happened before the Fall of Beacon."

"You're not seriously considering that DJ Octavio planned on Squid Girl to lose the Ocean's Pearl and start a war, are you?" said Sun in disbelief. "I get that he's a king and all, but he doesn't seem that smart."

"Maybe not lose, but he could have definitely known that Squid Girl was going to take it," said Velvet, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "And don't forget, DJ Ocatvio's not working alone. He could have had help."

"Zeref," said Sora with certainty.

"The Octarian's are coming!" an Inkling in a blue coat yelled from the top of the news building, holding pair of binoculars. "The Octarian's are coming!"

"Those aren't Octarian's, Paul!" A second Inkling wear a Splash Mob uniform interjected, looking through his own binoculars. "It's those creatures that have been attacking the border! Everyone, man your stations! We've got an invasion party!"

So it wasn't the Octarians that were attacking – that all but confirmed Velvet's suspicions.

Now that they knew the Inklings weren't dealing with normal threats, Team Sora knew they had to stay and help in their fight. The four world-travelers fled the alleyway and started pushing themselves in the frontlines between the members of Squid Force and the Splash Mob (thankfully, neither group seemed to object them being there). They could see hundreds of dark figures starting to appear over the horizon, but Sora used the scope of his E-Liter 3K to get a better look at what they were dealing with.

"Their whole army is just a bunch of armorless Beowolves, a lot of Creeps, and a swarm of juvenile Nevermores," said Sora, blinking surprisingly when he lowered his rifle. "Huh, that's weird. You would think an invasion force would have something a little more powerful than a bunch of low-tier types."

"Inkopolis has been in a state of peace for over a hundred years," informed Velvet. "Without any negativity to feed on, any Grimm that live on this world would be too weak to survive longer than infancy. My guess is that these Grimm have been feeding on the Octarian's misery, barely scarping up anything they could to live. Look at them – " Sora peeked through his scope again, noticing that some of the Grimm were actually stumbling over themselves " – they barely have the strength to stand. It's almost sad."

"Hey, you don't see me crying," said Sun smugly, whipping out his inkbrush with a flourish. "The sooner we can get rid of them, the better."

Well, Sora wasn't gonna argue with that logic.

The Inklings lined up in their positions with their weapons armed and ready – even Sora's team – but no one was taking a shot just yet. The Grimm were getting steadily closer to the city limits, but not a single Inkling had taken a shot yet, not even the snipers that could have wiped the out from a mile away. The Creepers lead the charge as they knocked over the makeshift barbwire fence the Inklings had slapped together in the outer perimeter of the city, not that it would have done much good to keep anyone out. But when the Creepers took their first step past the defense wall –

 _ **SPLAT!**_

The ground beneath the Creepers exploded into geysers of different colored ink blasts, catapulting the creatures of Grimm into the air, drenched from head-to-toe in a rainbow of paint before they exploded into nothingness. The armorless Beowolves grounded their feet and stopped short of the hidden ink minefield, but the Creepers lacked the number of limbs that their wolfish allies had and couldn't stop themselves without falling over. Several dozen ink mines went off simultaneously thanks to the Creepers – it was like watching a fireworks display on the ground, only with ink. He greater majority of the Creeper population had been splattered and faded away into nothingness, but a good number managed to come out with only a noticeable limp.

The Beowolves and the Creepers paced around the field suspiciously in case there were any more hidden ink mines underneath, but the Nevermores had the advantage of flying over the minefield. Hundreds of the juvenile monsters soared over their grounded comrades, gliding towards the Inkling's front lines with ravenous caws. But just before the Nevermores could enter the city, several dozen ink-filled sticks with bowed arches suddenly sprang up and started sprinkling ink like waterfalls. The first half of the Nevermore flock flew through the Splash Walls and immediate evaporated into nothingness while the second half of the Nevermores flapped their wings to stop themelves and started to climb over the defensive wall. The ones that got over the Splash Walls were immediately drowned by the Sloshers on the front lines and and still hovering behind the wall were obliterated by the Penny's Heavy Splatling.

The Creeper army had been cut in half and the Nevermores were down to a quarter of what they used to be after two strikes, but the armorless Beowolves were still at full strength. The black wolves lacking bone masks continually paced back and forth behind the minefield with their noses to the ground, seemingly trying to sniff out the hidden bombs. The Splash Mob member on top of the Inkopolis News Station watched the monsters through his binoculars then turned to the group on the building opposite of him.

"Launch the Inkstrikes!" he commanded.

"Launching Inkstrikes!" answered a Squid Force agent.

On the opposite rooftop, a small squadron of four Squid Force agents was kneeling around four transparent missiles filled with different colors of ink. After transmitting the coordinates in their gamepads, the Squid Force agents took cover behind the fox statue and plugged their ears as the missiles rocketed into the sky with a thunderous roar. The four ink missiles flew over the Inkopolis rooftops, beyond the city limits, and turned their heads towards the ground over the Grimm horde. The creatures of Grimm only just looked up when the sound of the rocket's thrusters reach their ears before the Inkstrikes crashed in the middle of their army. Four tornados of blue, green, purple, and yellow ink suddenly rose from the ground and reached through the clouds, ripping the creatures of destruction off the ground and sending them flying for miles covered in paint before they evaporated into nothingness. The multiple Inkstrikes only lasted a few seconds, but by the time the paint tornados had died down, only a couple dozen Grimm were left recovering from the bombardment.

Needless to say, Sora was impressed.

"These guys are awesome," Sora whispered to his teammates, looking around at the Inklings as they checked over their weapons in the brief respite. "They took out an entire army of Grimm without having to fire a single bullet."

"These are people who have revolutionized warfare and turned it into a game," said Velvet, smiling. "I doubt even the Atlas military could invade Inkopolis if they wanted to."

"On your feet, everybody!" the Splash Mob member shouted from the top of the new building, staring out at the horizon through his binoculars. "That was just the first wave! The second wave is just leaving the Octo Valley board and is en route for the city!"

"We have no more Inkstrikes to spare!" shouted the Squid Force leader. "We're going to have to face them head-on!"

"Too all citizens of Inkopolis, take up your ink weapons and defend your home!" yelled the Splash Mob leader. "Remember, this is the home we have fought long and hard to protect! We have survived the war with the Octarians and we will survive against these monsters! Inkopolis will not fall!"

The Inklings pumped their fists into their air and roared in agreement; Sora and his friends followed their examples. And when the second wave of armorless Beowolves, Creepers, and juvenile Nevermores started to approach the city limits, the Inklings charged to meet them halfway, guns a-splatting.

* * *

Squid Girl tried to not look down as she climbed through the observation deck window, grabbed the edge of the roof, and pulled herself up. Her foot slipped with she tried to lift it up,, scrambling to regain balance, but managed to catch herself at the last second; she let out a relieved sigh. Squid Girl grunted with effort as she pulled herself to the observation deck roof and stared up into the eyes of the Great Zapfish. The massive catfi8sh-eel creature had its googly eyes pinned on the battle taking place in the city's boarder that it didn't even notice the blue-haired girl walking up to it. Squid Girl took a moment to size up the Great Zapfish, reached behind her back, and pulled out something that looked like a transparent orange egg. Squid Girl twisted the top and bottom of the egg, making the strange device light up, pulled back her arm, and –

"Azul!" Squid Girl spun around, nearly tripping over herself, as Callie and Marie climbed up on the roof with her. "Azul, what are you doing up here? Get down before you get yourself hurt!"

"You can't tell me what to do-de geso!" snapped Squid Girl angrily.

"Azul, this is insane!" yelled Callie. "There's a war going on down there! We need to get down and get you to safety!"

"Why? What do you care-de geso?" hissed Squid Girl. "We're not cousins, remember? You said it yourself, I'm not even an Inkling anyway-de geso! Everyone would just be better off if Grandpa Cuttlefish just left me on the side of the road, right-de geso?"

"I'm sorry I said that, Azul!" Marie apologized strongly. "I was just frustrated by the war and took it out on you! I never wanted to hurt you!"

"But it's true, isn't it-de geso?" Squid Girl retorted angrily. "I'm not an Inkling! I never was! You two have been lying to me my whole life telling me something I'm not when I could have been looking for my real home, my real family-de geso!"

"We are you're real family, Azul!" cried Callie. "We love you!"

"You expect me to believe that-de geso!" snapped Squid Girl furiously. "You lied to me when you kept tell me I was an Inkling-de geso! Grandpa Cuttlefish lied to me when said we were family-de geso! And even Sora and his friends lied to me when they n ever told me they were from another world, too – de geso!" Callie and Marie's eyes went wide with shock and looked at one another. "Yeah, that's right, I know all about that-de geso! Another secret you were keeping from me-de geso!"

"Azul…who told you that?" Marie asked slowly. "Who told you that Sora's group was from another world?"

"The only person who hasn't lied to me-de geso," said Squid Girl, seething. "Why don't you ask him yourself-de geso?"

Both either Callie or Marie could stop her, Squid Girl pivoted on her foot, pulled back her arm as far as it could go, and threw the egg-like device at the Great Zapfish. The massive sea creature only turned its eyes when it felt something slapped the skin between its eyes before a great flash of orange filled the sky, nearly blinding all of the Inklings below and frightening the Grimm. When the light faded away, the Great Zapfish was no longer clinging to Inkopolis Tower, but was floating helplessly above the city, trapped in a larger version of the transparent egg device. The Great Zapfish was flailing in a fit of fright, slapping its tail against the clear walls and zapping it with electricity, but the floating prison would not break. Squid Girl stared up at the Zapfish with hints of confusion while Callie and Marie watched on in horror.

"Azul…," muttered Callie terrified.

"What have you done?" murmured Marie, trembling.

* * *

The Inklings were holding off the invasion force rather well, sending in the Splatlings and the Sloshers first to take out the majority in a coordinated sweep, then had the rest of the weapon types clean up the remains while the Chargers sniped any that broke away. Team Sora was contributing their own share of Grimm kills: Penny was on the front lines shooting off her Heavy Splatling in rapid succession while Velvet and Sun provided back up; Sora stayed in the back, nailing several Grimm between the eyes. It looked like Inkopolis would have a clean victory against the Grimm…or at least that was before the bright orange light blindsided everyone and offset the balance of the battlefield.

Sora immediately turned his head up with the other Inklings, noticing right away the Great Zapfish struggling inside his floating prison.

"What the heck is that?" yelled Sora.

"They've captured the Great Zapfish!" cried a random Inkling.

"Oh no, our power!" shouted another Inkling.

The effects of the Great Zapfish's separation from Inkopolis Tower were almost immediate. It started with the Inkopolis Tower's many lights flickering off, the wall of pulsing speakers steadily dropping volume before falling silent, and the elevator to the Observation Deck stopping midway up the transparent tube. Then the giant television screen of the Inkopolis News Studio went black and the giant tenuki turret on top tilted its head down as its power died off, same with the fox statue on the opposite building. Section by section, more of Inkopolis started to lose power from the neon signs at Booyah Base to even the vending machines on the corner of the streets. But worst off all, the automated defense systems that had been aiding the Inklings in fending off the Grimm lowered their muzzles when there was no more power to fuel them and the ink dispensers that the Inklings had been using to refill their weapons between bouts had gone dry. A couple members from the Splash Mob and the Squid Force were trying to hand pump the ink into the dispensers, but they couldn't even get enough paint to fill a cup.

"We're completely out of ink!" shouted the Squid Force member. "It'll take at least an hour to refill manually!"

"Everyone, no more random fire!" yelled the Splash Mob leader. "We don't have any more ink to spare! So from now on, don't take a shot until you know you can land a hit! We've already taken out most of the enemy forces! We can survive this!"

And then suddenly, a thunderous _thud_ clapped across the air as the ground quivered beneath their feet; the Inklings and the Grimm both went still and silent. They paused for a long moment…another _thud_ and another tremor…and then a third _thud_ and another tremor….Something very large was getting closer…it was coming for the western border of Inkopolis. The Inklings and Grimm turned as one as smoke started to rise over the buildings and then…a colossal hand reached over the edge and grasped the rooftop. Everyone could only stare, frozen, as a massive…thing slowly crept over the rooftops, blowing out steam. It was…

"Attack on Kraken!" an Inkling screamed.

"Ain't no Kraken, ya dang foo'!"

The massive creature suddenly jumped into the air out of the shadows and revealed itself to be none other and DJ Octavio sitting inside a massive flying machine. The vehicle the king of the Octarians rode in looked like a modified turntable to match his DJ persona with a pool of dark fuchsia ink that the Octarians often use. The flying turntable was equipped with four cannons on the front, two extendable metal fists on either side, and a dozen thrusters on the bottom to keep the machine afloat. The Octarian King was scratching multiple records at once using what looked like wasabi stalk, screeching through the massive speakers behind him. The Inklings all cringed and covered their ears and even the Grimm howled in pain while slapping their paws over their heads.

"Bout dang time that slimly little hipster got the job done!" shouted DJ Octavio jubilantly in victory. "Now that the Zapfish ain't powerin' the city no more, ya bunch o' nasty little chump are 'bout to get dubstepped into oblivion! Grimm, take care o' normal hippes! Those little Squid Sister punks are all mine!"

The Octarian King turned his flying turntables away and started flying toward Inkopolis Tower. Once they were free of the horrible, screeching music, the Grimm immediately went back into action and started attacking the Inklings under DJ Octavio's orders. As Sora sniped two Beowolves between the eyes before they could get to any more Inklings, his brow furrowed as he watched the giant octopus fly away from the battle. Unfortunately, he was too distracted by the fleeing Octarian overlord to notice that three of the armorless Beowolves had snuck up behind him and lunged at the human disguised as an Inkling. But by good fortune, the left Beowolf was splattered by multiple rounds while the right Beowolf was disintegrated by a single shot to the face and the middle monster was wiped away by a single stroke from an Inkbrush. Sora spun around, gasping in shock and raising his E-Liter 3K when he realized the rest of his team had come together.

"Sora, are you all right?" asked Velvet in concern.

"I'll be fine," said Sora, nodding in confirmation. He turned his head towards Inkopolis Tower where he noticed DJ Octavio was now confronting Squid Girl and the Squid Sisters. "We have to get up there right away. DJ Octavio is the real enemy here."

"What about the Inklings?" asked Penny, watching the little squid people fighting for their lives against the creatures of Grimm.

"They already know how to take care of themselves," said Sora cool and collected. "DJ Octavio is the one controlling the Grimm, so if we take him out, that should mean that the Grimm will give up, right? And besides, as long as they have the Great Zapfish sealed up in that pod, the Inklings won't have any power to recharge their weapons."

"Then what are we standing around here for?" shouted Sun, pivoting quickly and slapping a stray Nevermore out of the air. "C'mon, we gotta get moving!"

Now in total agreement, Team Sora loaded up their weapons with what little paint they could manage from the Ink dispensers and dashed for Inkopolis Tower…. And when they realized twenty seconds later that the elevator was also out of power, they started climbing the tower instead.

* * *

DJ Octavio's turntable floated to level with Squid Girl and the Squid Sisters on the observation deck rooftop before he reached over with his scarred tentacle and patted the blue-haired non-Inkling on the shoulder in a friendly gesture.

"Ya done did me a solid, mah homie," said DJ Octavio appreciatively. "Ya done got rid of that pesky Zapfish and now Inkopolis is ready to be taken over by a smarter, stronger, and better-looking leader…. That's me, by the way. I was totally talking about me in case none of ya got it."

"Azul, you're working with DJ Octavio?" Callie gasped.

"You know he's just going to betray you," said Marie.

"Aw, shut up, you slimy little hipsters," snapped DJ Octavio. He slapped a button on his turntables and fired off four missiles from the cannons in front of his machine. The Squid Sister's jumped back to avoid the projectiles, but the ink explosion that followed splashed them both and knocked away to the opposite end of the roof. "Y'all beats ain't that fresh, anyway."

"Hey, leave them alone!" Squid Girl shouted at DJ Octavio, raising her fist to him. "We had a deal, didn't we?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," DJ Octavio sighed, rolling his eyes at the blue-haired squid. "I won't hurt your cousins or whatever, all right. Not like it even matters once I take over this city and make them background dancers for mah sick music videos. Finally, after hundreds of year o' being trapped down under in the dark, cold domes, the Octarians will finally get what they deserve – and it's all thanks ta you, mah little squid homie. Oh, and that reminds me, the other part of our deal. Y'all said ya wanted to travel to other worlds, didn't ya?"

"Yeah…I did…," Squid Girl said slowly, though she seemed less certain now that she was here.

"Then it's time for ya ta go on a lil' journey," said DJ Octavio menacingly, slowly approaching her. "To the dark world of the Grimm!"

Squid Girl gasped – she had been betrayed, which in all fairness wasn't that surprising considering DJ Octavio was the sworn enemy of the Inklings, even if she wasn't technically an Inkling. The blue-haired girl started to back away, but DJ Octavio pulled a lever on his machine and swung one of the metal fists around and slammed into Squid Girl from the side. The poor non-Inkling was sent flailing through the air, slamming into one of the tower beams with her back, and dropping forward on her stomach. Squid Girl slowly pushed herself up by her elbow and cringed, feeling a tremendous amount of pain around her ribcage. Since she wasn't an Inkling, she lacked their invulnerability and could have sworn that some of his bones had been cracked; it hurt so much. Squid Girl bit her cheek, trying to distract one pain with another, until she looked up and saw DJ Octavio looming menacingly over her with a wicked cackle of glee.

"Aw, is the widdle squid baby hurt?" DJ Octavio taunted as he raised his machine's fist above her head. "Dun worry, mah homie…it won't hurt much longer."

DJ Octavio started to raise his fist over the Squid Girl's head when a single paintball shot through the air toward his head. Unfortunately, the paintball splattered in midair against a magenta energy barrier that had been invisible before contact and dripped on the roof. His bulbous green eyes perked in curiosity and the Octarian King twisted his turntables around toward the direction the shot came from. Sora and his friends finally managed to climb onto the observation deck rooftop, but everyone was panting heavily and leaning against the weapons or their knees to catch their breath (not Sun – this was just light exercise for him). The heroes were heaving and wheezing for a long time – Velvet was holding a stitch in her chest – DJ Octavio and Squid Girl glanced at one another for a moment, raising their brows.

"Y'all needs some water or somethin'?" DJ Octavio offered politely.

"No…no, thanks…we're good," Sora panted, waving his hand in dismissal.

"Ya sure?" DJ Octavio offered again. "I can just run down a grab a glass."

"Nah, we're fine…," said Sora, taking a long and deep breath. "Okay…okay…I think we're good now." He coughed in his fist and loaded his weapon threateningly. "Give up, DJ Octavio! We've got you surrounded! Call off the Grimm right now!"

"Y'all must be punkin' me if ya think I'm just gonna drop the mike now!" DJ Octavio cackled wickedly. His turntables floated higher into the air and circled around the tower, giving him the perfect view of the heroes, the caged Zapfish, and the carnage taking place below. "Don't ya get it now, ya slimy little hipsters? I'm runnin' the show now! Inkopolis belongs ta me! All them puny Inklings are gonna be my new slaves, just like the Octarians!"

"Wait, you enslaved the Octarians?" asked Penny, surprised.

"Of course I did, ya stupid lil' windup toy!" DJ Octavio exclaimed. "They were all satisfied with how things were down in the domes that none o' them ever bothered thinking about tryin' ta take Inkopolis for themselves! We have the numbers, we have the technology, but no one but mah self had the ambition to take back what we deserved in the Great Turf War! So I cooked up some spicy wasabi beats to control their teeny-tiny brains and made them do whatever I wanted. I even got some o' those suckerfish to hook me up with free cable."

"How could you do something like that?" gasped Velvet.

"It was easy, actually," said DJ Octavio. "First I had one o' those dumbbells sneak into the cable company – "

"She means brainwashing your own people!" shouted Sora resentfully. "It's one thing to start a war with your enemies, but enslaving your own people to get whatever you want?" He cocked his E-Liter 3K and glared. "We're going to stop you right here and save both the Inklings and the Octarians!"

"Come at me, bruh!" DJ Octavio challenged. "I'ma gonna remix your face!"

The Octarians slave driver started smacking his turntables with the wasabi stalks he carried and four missiles shot out from the cannons in front, one for each of the heroes. Sora and his friends quickly jumped out of the way as the air was splattered in a small flood of magenta ink. The team scattered in different directions and Sora started running around the observation deck roof behind the Inkopolis Tower beams. He thought that if he could use the beams as a cover, he could snipe DJ Octavio from a distance while he teammate distracted him. Unfortunately, DJ Octavio ignored the others and started following him instead – he recognized that Sora was the leader of the group, plus Zeref had a special interest in his, so bonus points with the boss.

DJ Octavio popped out another four missiles from his cannons, one after the other in a row towards Sora. The red Inkling skidding his shoes against the rooftop to stop himself, splashing a bit of ink that had gotten there somehow, and lined up the shot through his E-Liter scope. He waited until all four missiles were in a straight line before he pulled the trigger and shot a single paint ball. The ink-filled bullet ripped through the surface of the first missile, setting off an explosion of magenta that triggered the explosions of the other missiles in rapid succession.

Sora grinned smugly at his accomplishment until DJ Octavio zoomed down and slammed his fist over Sora's head; the red Inkling swiftly bounced out of the way in between the Inkopolis Tower beams and threw out his legs to brace himself between them. It was very uncomfortable, but it gave him the perfect sniping position as the Octarian King's big, clunky machine was very slow to retract its fist. He shot four Ink-filled bullets from his E-Liter that would have hit DJ Octavio squarely between the eyes if it hadn't been for his invisible force field. Sora pulled the trigger again, but the Charger gun only clicked hollowly. Grimacing, Sora flipped the weapon around and checked the ink tank – it was empty

In his momentary distraction, Sora wasn't paying attention to DJ Octavio until the Octarian King had punched his turntable's giant metal fist into the side of the Inkopolis Tower, making the beams reverberate. The vibrations shook Sora out of the Tower beams and caused him to flop on his stomach on the observation deck roof. The human-disguised Inkling groaned, rubbing his sore belly, while DJ Octavio started swinging his metal fist down again on top of his head ready to flatten him like a pancake. But at the very last second, Sun swooped in and smacked the Octarian King's fist away with his yellow inkbrush, splashing the machine's knuckles in his color.

"Sun!" Sora shouted gratefully.

"Sora, quick!" yelled Sun, unscrewing the tube of ink on his weapon. "Fill up your weapon before – "

"You ain't doin' nothing, punks!" shouted DJ Octavio.

Sora and Sun spun around as DJ Octavio threw both of his turntable's fists at them instead of just one at a time like them had assumed it worked. Red Inkling Sora rolled out of the way and dashed around to the back end of the Inkopolis Tower while yellow Inkling Sun flipped backwards with great acrobatic skill, screwing the ink tube back in his weapon in midair. Sun landed himself properly just as DJ Octavio turned his machine and started scrapping the metal fists against the rooftop in his direction. Sun twirled the Inkbrush over his head and around his back to build up momentum before he slapped the brush against the first iron fist to knock it off the roof. He performed the same build-up before slapping the second hand into the air, making it hang in the air for a moment before it fell back down, and slapped it a second time using his Inkbrush as a baseball bat. The metal fist flew straight back into DJ Octavio and punched him squarely in the face, which was a surprise because he had expected the attack to be stopped by Octavio's force field. But as the Octarian King twirled dizzily around in the air, an idea suddenly formed in Sun's head.

"That's it!" Sun shouted in a eureka moment. "We can't hurt him with our attacks, but we can hurt him with his own attacks!"

"I guess ya dun figured it out, genius," said DJ Octavio sarcastically. "But it ain't gonna matter any way. Cause it's time to…D-D-D-DROP THE SEA BASS!"

DJ Octavio slapped a button on his turntables and a small loudspeaker popped out of a hidden slot underneath the machine. At first, Sun didn't really think there was a cause for concern considering how small and harmless it looked, but immediately regretted his decision when the loudspeaker blasted him with a wave of concussive sound. The monkey Faunus in disguise was sent flying through the gaps of the Tower, smacking his head and body against a couple of the beams, before he landed on the opposite side face down; Sora quickly ran to his aid.

The Octarian overlord cackled at his victory over the Faunus was he was suddenly hit from the side, thrusting him sideways nearly into the Tower. His force field protected him from any real damage, but the impact was enough to nearly jostle him out of his machine and it knocked his helmet askew – ASKEW! DJ Octavio straightened his self-made crown and leered at Penny as the android-turned-Inkling marched purposely closer, unloading her entire tank of ink with her Heavy Splatling. The Heavy Splatling's power was pushing him back hard, so DJ Octavio pushed back. The Octarian Overlord forced his machine to turn around against eh rapid assault and activated the loudspeaker underneath, blasting Penny with a horrible wailing of DJ Octavio's poor taste in music. But to his surprise, Penny still remained standing, firing off her rounds into the sound tunnel. What DJ Octavio didn't realize was that Penny's reinforced chassis was too heavy to be lifted by the soundwaves and kept her grounded on the rooftop. But despite this advantage, Penny's shots were getting nowhere close to the Octarian Overlord and in a few short seconds she was already out of ink.

"You're a tough lil' hipster, I'll give ya that," said DJ Octavio. "But you still can't handle my spicy wasabi beats! Disco bombs away!"

The cannons in the front of the turntable machine withdrew their missiles and replaced them with projectiles that resembled disco balls, much to Penny's disgust. DJ Octavio cackled at Penny's face – he much have mistaken her revulsion for terror – and pressed the button that launched all four disco bombs at once. Penny was still grounded by Octavio's tasteless music wail that she couldn't move around to dodge the incoming projectiles.

But that was the benefit of having teammates.

Velvet, who had been bouncing around between the Tower beams studying Octavio's machine, jumped into the air to meet the gaudy disco bombs midway. She flipped around in midair and stamped both feet against the surface of the disco bomb, simultaneously bouncing off the projectile while throwing the explosive back at its creator. Velvet then glided over to the second bomb where she landed on the massive disco-themed shell, tilted her body to change its direction, and then kicked the bomb back at Octavio again. For the last two bombs, Velvet merely grabbed them by the grooves and spun around tossing one after the other. DJ Octavio's bulbous green eyes puffed up like balloons as he own weapons flew right back at his face and exploded inside his turntables. The music machine spun out of control, freeing Penny from the musical beating she was receiving as Velvet safely landed on her feet next to her partner.

"Disco balls, really?" Velvet scoffed when Octavio managed to regain control of his machine. "That is so tacky!"

"Tacky?" DJ Octavio gasped in horror. "You dirty little squid-thing! I'll turn ya into a radio edit!"

"Just give it up Octavio!" demanded Sora as he and Sun (whose head was still spinning) rejoined their teammates. "Call of the Grimm right now!"

"You ain't in no position to get givin' me orders, brat," said DJ Octavio. "As you can see…you're all out of ink." Sora and the others checked their weapons and realized that they were indeed in short supply of the powerful paint. "Pretty soon, the rest of them Inklings will be outta ink too. And that means DJ Octavio's gonna be king of the hill, baby! But first things first…mah homie Zeref is gonna want a word with you."

DJ Octavio floated closer to the team of heroes as his shadow fell over them.

Squid Girl flipped herself over on her back and forced herself to sit up, cringing at the twinge of pain in her chest. She may not have had the Inkling's invulnerability, but whatever she was seemed to have some innate ability to heal themselves at an accelerated rate. Even now she could feel the bones starting to mend themselves under her skin. The blue-haired girl leaned against her elbow and started to push herself up when two pairs of fashionable black shoes walked into her vision. Already assuming the worst, Squid Girl looked up and say her cousins – or to be more specific, former cousins.

Callie and Marie stared at Squid Girl with concerned expressions, wincing to see how much trouble she was having just standing up. The blue-haired girl leaned on her hands again and started to push herself up, but the tinge in her chest decided to give her one last jolt before the bones were fully healed and dropped her back on her butt. The Squid Sister's dropped to the knees on instinct and starting to fuss over Squid Girl.

"You shouldn't move too quickly, Azul, you'll hurt yourself again," said Callie quickly.

"Take as much time as you need to get back to full strength; you don't need to rush yourself," said Marie earnestly.

"Don't touch me-de geso!" spat Squid Girl, slapping their hands away. "You two are the last people I want to see right now-de geso!"

"…we're sorry," mumbled Callie.

"We're just trying to help you," said Marie softly.

"Help me? HELP ME?" Squid Girl all but screamed in their faces. "You've been lying to me my whole life! I always thought that the reason nobody liked me was because I was bad at Turf Wars-de geso! But it turns out the real reason nobody likes me is because I'm some freaky alien thing from another world-de geso! Everyone's always staring at me and pointing at me and saying mean things to me, but now I know why-de geso! And you two!" She jabbed her finger accusingly at them. "You're just laughing at me behind my back, weren't you-de geso? Just keeping around for fun and joke-de geso!"

"That's not true!" gasped Callie. "We want you around because we love you!"

"Then why-de geso?" snapped Squid Girl. "Why didn't you tell me who I am-de geso?"

"Because we were afraid!" cried Marie.

The observation deck rooftop became still with silence. Everything – the wars on the streets, the battle in the background – all of it just seemed to ebb away, leaving the squid cousins in a world where only they existed. Squid Girl's mouth fell open, but no noise came from it. Her tough-as-nails cousin Marie sniffed and small glimmers of tears started to spill out of the corners of her eyes, streaking down her cheeks and onto the floor. Callie reached over and brushed away the tears from her cousin's eyes as she sniffed again.

"Afraid?" Squid Girl repeated softly. "What…what were you afraid of-de geso?"

"Of you leaving us," answer Marie, her voice becoming hitched and constricted. "We were afraid…that if you knew we weren't related…tat you would leave us and go looking for your real family."

"But…why?" asked Squid Girl softly.

"You always thought that we were the reason the Squid Sisters made it this far, Azul," said Callie in a tender voice, gently rubbing Marie's shoulder. "But truthfully, it's the other way around. You're the reason we're here, Azul. Don't you remember that it was you who convinced us to enter the talent show at the Sushi Festival and we won first place? Or when you convinced us to move to Inkopolis so that we could make our big break? You were even the one that kept Marie from quitting our job at the Walleye Warehouse and told us to hold out a little longer. Don't you get it, Azul? If it wasn't for you, the Squid Sisters would have never even existed. We'd still be planting rice in the fields at Calamari County if it wasn't for you."

You might not…be as good at Turf Wars as us," Marie managed to speak up, taking a couple sobbing breaths, "but you were what kept us together. Even when things get tough and I just want to give up, you always give us the strength to keep moving forward. You're the soul of the Squid Sisters…. Which is why we were too scared to tell you. We were worried that you wouldn't want to be with us anymore if you knew we weren't really cousins. So…we kept it from you."

"But that was wrong of us," said Callie. "We were only thinking about ourselves and didn't take your feelings into consideration. And we're sorry. We should have told you everything from the beginning…we should have let you choose what you wanted to do."

"I know…there's a lot we need to make up for…," said Marie, hanging her head and grasping a handful of her dress in her fist. "And you totally deserve to be angry at us…but I wanna…do you think…you can ever forgive us?"

"Callie…Marie…," murmured Squid Girl murmured softly.

The Squid Sisters slowly stood straight and offered their cousin a hand each with small smiles. For a moment, Squid Girl just stared at them like they were something she had never seen before…but she did did accept each of their hands and together they pulled the Squid Girl back to her feet. The three Squid Sisters were finally standing together…just like that night of the Sushi Festival….

….And this warm, family moment was prompty destroyed when Team Sora dropped right next to them like ragdolls, covered from head-to-toe in magenta ink.

"Sora!" Squid Girl yelped in surprise, kneeling next to her friend while her cousins helped the others. "Are you all right?"

"…I really wish I had Crescent Rose," Sora grunted, wincing from his throbbing muscles; his aura absorbed most of the damage thankfully. "Squid Girl, you gotta get everyone out of here. DJ Octavio is – "

"Right here!" DJ Octavio cackled wickedly as he floated above them. "Dem punks ain't no match for by spicy – "

"Spicy wasabi beats, we know," the heroes said in unified exasperation.

"…well, you don't need to mock me simultaneously," DJ Octavio pouted.

"That's enough, Octavio-de geso!" Squid Girl shouted insistently as she stood up; she dropped Sora on his head. "I take everything back! Please, just let the Great Zapfish go and leave Inkopolis alone!"

"Uh-uh, it don't work that way," said DJ Octavio dismissively. "We had a deal, bruh. And when ya go back on a deal…YOU GET MASHED!"

With a pull of the lever, DJ Octavio threw one of his turntable's giant metal fists at Squid Girl. The blue-haired girl stayed rooted in her stop, frozen in fear, until she felt two pairs of hands pushed her aside.

"AZUL, LOOK OUT!"

Callie and Marie shoved their on-inkling cousin out of the way and threw her safely on the ground a few feet away. Squid Girl quickly sat up and her mouth fell open with horror as she watched the giant metal knuckle slam into the side of the Squid Sisters, making their eyes spin with disorientation, and flung them over the edge of the rooftop. The whole world suddenly felt like it was playing in slow motion. Squid Girl flipped around on her hands and knees, leaning over the edge, and watching Callie and Marie plummet hundreds of feet to the warzone below. Squid Girl screamed and reached out to them with her hand, but it was a meaningless gesture as they were already halfway to the ground. The whole time, Squid Girl never noticed that her ten strands of blue hair were starting to raise themselves up without anyone touching them. It didn't matter to her; she just wanted some to save her cousins.

"CALLIE! MARIE! NOOOOO!" Squid Girl screamed, her voice echoed across all of Inkopolis.

A flash of blue suddenly zipped over Squid Girl's shoulders and a moment later, Callie and Marie suddenly stopped in midair. Callie and Marie, who had their eyes closed during the fall, slowly opened them when they realized they weren't splattered on the street. They looked around before realizing that they were suddenly level with their News Station monitor, but they weren't falling any more. It took a moment before Callie and Marie realized something was keeping them suspended by their waists and looked down, eyes wide in surprise. Each of them were being held up by a pair of Squid Girl's tentacles – the long strands of zigzag hair somehow able to stretch beyond its normal length and was strong enough to carry both of their weight (please don't tell Callie I said the 'w' word).

Squid Girl looked just as stunned as her cousins, finally coming to the realization that all ten of her tentacles had suddenly come to life and were wiggly like bright-blue ribbons. She had so many questions about this, but Squid Girl decided to prioritize on saving her cousins instead. It was surprisingly easy to pull Callie and Marie back to the observation deck roof in only a couple seconds – her tentacles seemed to be stronger than they looked. Once her cousins were safe, the tentacles retreated from the Squid Sister's waist and went limp at Squid Girl's waist. The non-inkling held one of the strands in her hand like it was an alien lifeform, but was interrupted from her examination when Callie and Marie suddenly glomped her.

"Azul, that was amazing!" cheered Callie when she pulled back. "How did you do that?"

"I – I don't know," Squid Girl stuttered earnestly. "I just thought that I really wanted to save you and it just…happened."

"It must be one of your powers," said Marie thoughtfully. "Maybe your species has the power to make their tentacles come to life and do amazing things like they did just now. You're awesome, Azul."

"You…you really think so?" said Squid Girl, scratching her neck embarrassingly. "Aw shucks, it was nothing."

"Moving tentacles – now that's just plain weird," said DJ Octavio, somehow forgetting that his own minions are just giant tentacles. "But it ain't no big deal, cause I'm still the biggest – the baddest – and the handsomest cephalopod in the world! And you lil' chumps are in for a major beat down!"

DJ Octavio slapped a button on his turntables and the cannons on the front of his machine flipped around, shooting off at least a dozen missiles on top of Inkopolis Tower. The Octarian overlord cackled victoriously…until his missile suddenly exploded halfway from their targets, leaving the Tower untouched. DJ Octavio went into a stunned silence, his wasabi stalks falling on the floor uselessly, and his eyes looking ready to pop out of his squishy skull. Squid Girl's ten tentacles flailed around the air like a kraken about to breach the surface before they retracted back to the blue-haired girl. She glared up at DJ Octavio, who visibly flinched.

"You lied to me, tricked me into turning on Callie and Marie, and made me almost destroy the city!" hissed Squid Girl angrily. "As the Emissary of Inkopolis, I will bring you to justice, DJ Octavio!"

"Just try it, ya little hipster freak!" DJ Octavio challenged.

He pressed another button on the turntables, recalled his missiles, and instead started firing off his disco bombs by the dozens. Squid Girl braced herself as she willing the tentacles to come alive, stretch into the air to intercept the tacky explosives, constricted around the surface of the bombs, and flung them back to their originator one after another. DJ Octavio screamed in a quick fright as his own weapons suddenly turned against him. The Octarian overlord grabbed the control sticks and started pulling left, right, and every direction in between to dodge his own disco bombs; there was one moment where he flipped sideways over a pair and nearly unseated himself. But thanks to his great coordination and skill (or just basically dumb luck), DJ Octavio managed to avoid all the explosives and let out a sigh of relief.

But while the Octarian with the bad taste in music was catching his breath, Squid Girl willed all ten of her tentacles to come together into a single, combined strand of light-blue and jabbed it into the air like a spear. DJ Octavio didn't even see the attack coming until it was only a few feet from his face, but he wasn't too worried. Squid Girl had completely forgotten about Octavio's invisible force field – her tentacles hit the transparent magenta surface and split back into its ten separate strands. Squid Girl pulled back her appendages and glowered while DJ Octavio laughed.

"Ooh, so close and yet so far," said DJ Octavio mockingly. "Looks like ya ain't got the skills ta pay the bills, freak show."

"Aw, suckerfish!" Squid Girl cursed. "How is he doing that?"

"It's the music," Penny informed them from a short distance away. "You must have noticed that he's been playing that godawful music this whole time. He's turning that horrible noise into a physical wavelength to act as a semi-living construct. In other words, he is creating a literal sound barrier."

"That's right, punks!" DJ Octavio confirmed. "My spicy wasabi beats can't be beat! So why don't ya sit back and listen to these sweet jams!"

Now that he had figured out that physical attacks are going to work on a squid with super strong and super stretchy tentacles, DJ Octavio decided to fall back on his best weapon yet. The loudspeaker once again popped out from the underside of his turntables and blasted the blue-haired girl with a continuous pulse of terrible, pulsating music. Squid Girl dropped to one knees clutching her head as the sound ceaselessly pounded against her skull like a jackhammer. She tried to put her thoughts together and command the tentacles to attack, but she could barely see straight and her appendages just flailed around uselessly. Squid Girl soon fell on both knees and bended forward with her face in the floor, just wanting the horrible music to stop playing.

DJ Octavio whooped in celebration. He had finally done it: He was singlehanded about to take over Inkopolis and he was about to squash the little Squid Girl to boot. Everything was finally going his way…or at least that's how it was before another sound started to override his own.

It happened completely out of nowhere and no one saw it coming, but DJ Octavio's head-pounding music was swiftly being pushed back and consumed by another song – this one more vibrant with a catchy techno-pop beat to it. After a few short moments, DJ Octavio's music had been completely overwritten and the catchy musical beat could be heard from everywhere in Inkopolis. To the Inklings who lived in the city, they recognized this song as a sign of hope and gave them a strong moral boost. Squid Girl in particular felt uplifted as she propped herself up and watched the Squid Sisters singing the first song the three of them had ever performed:

" _Calamari Inkantation_!" cried Squid Girl jubilantly.

"What are they doing?" asked Sora, curious as to why the Squid Sisters suddenly decided to put on a concert in the middle of a battle.

"It's noise cancellation," answered Penny. "They are reducing one unwanted noise by adding in a second noise specifically to cancel out the first. Although it seems their song is more powerful than DJ Octavio's."

"A song fight?" said Sun, scratching his head. "Just when I thought I had seen it all."

"No, no, no, no, no!" screamed DJ Octavio. He was spinning around at his turntables pushing every button he could find, but none of his music could be heard over the Squid Sister's combined voices. "This can't be happening! Where mah beats! I need mah beats!"

Just when the Octarian overlord couldn't imagine this situation getting any worse, Squid Girl's tentacles smashed through his weakened barrier, constricted the giant octopus's body, squeezing him unnecessarily hard, and ripped him out of his turntables. With no one left to pilot the vehicle, the turntable machine drifted and crashed outside the Inkopolis city limits. Squid Girl pulled the defeated overlord closer to her, glaring venomously, and Octavio laughed nervously.

"Uh…call this one a draw?" DJ Octavio offered. Squid Girl smacked him on the floor. "OW!"

"That was for tricking me!" yelled Squid Girl. She flipped him around and smacked him on the floor again. "That was for making me do your dirty work! And this – " She raised the woozily Octarian over her head and started to pull back as far as her tentacles could go, "- is for hurting – my – cousins!"

Squid Girl shot the DJ Octavio into the sky like he had been launched out of a slingshot; the overstuffed Octopus ruler was screaming like a little girl. Octavio ended up smacking into the side of the transparent prison that kept the Great Zapfish caged, flattening across the surface like a cartoon.

A brief hush fell over the city…and was broken by an echoing _**crack**_. Octavio ripped his face away from the transparent glass and shook her head free of the disorientation until he looked closer at the glass and realized that the impact had caused a deep crack in the container. His bulbous green eyes slowly crawled up to meet with the Great Zapfish, who seemed to grin at the Octarian king before it unleashed a mighty jolt of electricity that shattered its prison, raining down glass shards like they were snowflakes. Down below at the base of Inkopolis Tower, the Inkling's cheers could be heard for miles as the Great Zapfish flattened himself against the Tower and curled up in its rightful place. The city's electrical grid came back almost immediately once the Great Zapfish returned, meaning the Inklings could finally draw ink from the dispensers for their weapons. The Grimm – not so lucky.

Back on top of Inkopolis Tower, Sora and his friends had finally managed to clean themselves up of DJ Octavio's ink when the Octarian overlord suddenly fell flat on his face right in front of them. Octavion looked like he had been burned to a crisp and smell like grilled octopus – Sun wasn't gonna lie; he felt really tempted to take a bite.

"So…sad…," DJ Octavio mumbled dizzily. "Cross-fade…to black…"

And on that note, he dropped unconscious.

"Well, looks like he got rocked…and rolled," said Sun jokingly. The rest of his teammates groaned and Sun hanged his head in shame. "Yeah, I just heard myself."

While he was shaking his head at Sun's terrible pun, Sora noticed something floating around his peripherals and looked up curiously. It looked like a loose piece of paper that had fallen out of DJ Octavio's turntables during the battle. Sora snatched it out of the air and looked over the passage. It looked like a report that detailed creatures of shadow that formed from pools of darkness, sounding more and more like the Creatures of Grimm as he eyes roamed across the words. Much like the last time Sora had found a page like this, there had been no written name – only a neatly drawn, curly "W".

"Guys, look at this!" Sora sounded excited as he called his friends closer. "It's one of the missing RWBY Reports. I think Weiss might have written this one."

"That's great, Sora," said Velvet, patting him on the back.

"This means we're one step closer to find them," said Penny happily.

But while the heroes disguised as Inklings celebrated their most recent acquisition, Squid Girl and the Squid Sisters watched the group from a short distance away. The blue-haired squid looked more cheerful first the first time in a while as she played with her new power, willing her tentacles to bend and turn into different shapes and reach for things very far away. It all felt so natural to Squid Girl – like this was something she was born to do. And when she thought about it, maybe it _is_ what she was born to do; this was who she was meant to be.

Callie and Marie watched their cousin play for a long moment, allowing themselves to smile softly, before they shared a glance with one another. They didn't need to speak words to know that they were thinking the same thing. It was going to break their hearts, but they knew it was the right choice. So the Squid Sisters nodded in silent agreement and walked up to Squid Girl, tapping on her shoulder to get her attention. The blue-haired squid dropped her tentacles and turned around, tilting her head in curiosity."

"You know…you could go with them," said Callie, tilting her head in Team Sora's direction. "Sora and the others – you could go with them. They're going to be leaving soon, so this would be the perfect opportunity for you to go traveling to other worlds."

"You could go looking for your people," added Marie as Squid Girl spared a glance at Sora's team. "Find out what kind of person you are and be with others like yourself so you don't have to feel alone. Yeah, we'll miss you…a lot, but you deserve to know where you came from. You deserve to be with your real family."

"Hmm…you're right," Squid Girl hummed thoughtfully, crossing her arms and scratching her head with her tentacle; it was really an amusing sight for the Squid Sisters. "I do want to know who I am and I would like to know where I came from…but as for my family. Well – " Without warning, Squid Girl's tentacles flew out and pulled Callie and Marie closer, pulling them into a heartfelt embrace. "I already found my family right here in Inkopolis. I do want to travel to other worlds someday, but you two will always be my family and I will always love you."

"And we love you too, Azul," said Callie, returning the hug.

"And there is nothing that will ever change that," said Marie, returning the hug.

Sora watched the three squid cousins group hug and couldn't stop the smile climbing his face. He tilted his head back and looked to the sky and started wondering about his own family….

"I hope you're okay, mom," Sora murmured softly. "I'll find you again…someday. Just you wait."

* * *

 **RWBY Report #3**

 _Darkness pools in a shapeless form in this terrifying new world that I have found myself in…Are they the culmination of those who have lost their souls to these monsters, or physical manifestations of darkness itself? Or something entirely beyond my imagination?_

 _All my knowledge has provided no answer. One thing I am sure of is that they are the origin where the creatures draw life from._

 _Perhaps further study will unlock the mysteries of the soul and these creatures._

 _Fortunately, there is no shortage of test samples. They are multiplying across the valley even as I write this report._

 _I believe I have finally found the answer. The source of those creatures that seek to end all that exists…I have found the birthplace of the Grimm._

 _ **-W**_

* * *

 **It has come to my attention that many are very reluctant to vote via review and mostly slip them in through PM and I can often lose track that way. So from now on, please refer to the new voting polls found on my profile page.**


	30. Grand Magic Games - Pandemonium

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Grand Magic Games – Pandemonium**

"This ain't the last ya heard of me, ya hear!" DJ Octavio shouted furiously, waving his wasabi stalks in circles. "When I get outta here, I'm gonna make ya slimy little beatniks wish you had never heard of – " A loud _tink, tink_ noise echoed near his head, making the former Octarian overlord shrivel in fright. "Hey, can't ya read the signs? 'Do not tap on glass', ya hear!"

Squid Girl grinned deviously with a malicious cackle as she brought up all ten of her tentacles and tapped the glass relentlessly, much to DJ Octavio's woes

In the few hours since the Second Great Turf War had ended, the Inklings had managed to drive the Grimm horde back to Octo Valley once the Great Zapfish restored their power. Thankfully, the Grimm had not managed to do too much damage to the city and it looked like Inkopolis would be back on its feet in no time. Now that DJ Octavio was no longer controlling them, the Octarians proved to be a much more peaceful people than expected and were willing to forgive the Inklings for losing the Ocean's Pearl, but still demanded compensation for the loss of their power. Though most of the Inklings argued against it, Callie and Marie – as diplomatic as always – scrounged up some spare zapfish that should provide the Octarians with electricity until they found a new power source. And as for DJ Octavio, Squid Girl and the Squid Sisters locked him up inside of a snow globe prison and left him on display in Inkopolis Plaza, partly to punish him and partly to humiliate him.

As much as Squid Girl enjoyed watching Octavio squirm after all the things he did to her, Callie – being the nice squid – grabbed her tentacles and told her to stop. And Marie – being the bad girl – gave the snow globe a good hard kick.

"AHH! WHY?" DJ Octavio cried.

"Looks like you guys have everything under control," said Sora in relief. "Doesn't look like anyone died, at least."

"You have a lot to learn about Inklings, Sora," said Callie. "No one dies in Inkopolis. We just get splatted into paint and reform at one of the respawn points."

"You guys would make an awesome award-winning, third-person shooter game, you know that," Sun complimented them.

"So…about Squid Girl?" Velvet spoke up, looking hesitantly at the blue-haired girl. "Does anyone know what she did? I mean – "

"You mean how Azul took down the spy that captured the Great Zapfish and single-handed took down Octavio?" interjected Marie, smirking mischievously while patting Squid's shoulder. "We made sure EVERYBODY knows what went down on the Tower. With those new tentacles powers of hers, Azul's popularity has suddenly sky rocketed. Inklings all over town are asking for autographs, requesting matches, and the sponsors are practically kicking our door in trying to sign her up."

"I'm joining the same company as Callie and Marie next season!" said Squid Girl giddily. "I'm gonna officially be a Squid Sister when our next album comes out!"

"And we're so proud of you!" squealed Callie, glomping onto her cousin.

"Can't – breathe – everything – going – black – de geso…," Squid Girl gasped dramatically before Callie pulled away, shaking her head amusingly. The blue-haired girl turned back to Sora's team with a small smile. "So…I guess you guys will be going back to your world, huh-de geso?"

"About that," said Sora, scratching his head. "Sorry for lying to you, Squiddy."

"Nah, it's okay, I get it-de geso," said Squid Girl understandingly. "Besides, if you can travel to other worlds, maybe I can, too-de geso." She tilted her head back, staring into the vast blue sky. "I'm happy here on Inkopolis…but I'd still like to know where I came from-de geso. There's so many place I wanna see-de geso. I know I'll get there some day-de geso. I'll find a way somehow – I'm sure of it-de geso."

"Well, if you find it, do us a favor a leave us out of it," said Marie jokingly. "Hey, Azul, isn't there something you wanted to give Sora before he left."

"Oh yeah," said Squid Girl like she only just remembered and started digging around in her pocket. "This is from our collection-de geso. I thought you'd like to have it since you're from another world-de geso."

She pulled out something from her pocket, but her klutzy fingers caused her to drop it and the little Squid Girl panicked in trying to catch it, unintentionally throwing it around the air repeatedly. One of her tentacles finally snatched the device out of the air – Squid Girl sighed in relief – and handed it over to Sora. Sora recognized the Scroll-shaped device with its sky-blue coloring splatter with a few specks of paint ("Sorry, he kinda got a little carried around with decorating the apartment," Squid Girl apologized sheepishly) and the indigo-colored flower of the same name stamped in the middle. The blob-ish writing underneath called the new upgrade _**Colorful Indigo**_ – Sora honestly had no idea that Indigo was the name of a plant, but he wasn't going to complain.

"Sweet, thanks, Squiddy," said Sora gratefully.

"So, any idea where you're head to now?" asked Callie curiously.

"Well, there is still one more world where Octavio's allies are hiding," said Penny. "So I guess we're headed to Arkham – "

"Hold that thought, Penny," Sun interrupted when his Scroll suddenly went off. He whipped the device open and a short message flashed on the screen: **GRAND MAGIC GAMES 3** **RD** **EVENT TOMORROW.** "Guess we're gonna have to put Arkham on hold for a couple of days. The third event for the Games is about to start."

"We're still going after the RWBY Report in the King's library, right?" asked Velvet.

"Of course we are," said Penny. "The last RWBY Report we got from Octavio provided us with some decent information this time. If what she wrote is true, the Weiss may have discovered the location of where the Grimm are created. Maybe another report tell us how to destroy them."

"And plus you want a rematch with Era Scarlett after what happened the first day," said Sun, crossing his arm and grinning smugly.

"…And there's that too," Penny mumbled.

* * *

 **CROCUS**

The familiar roar of the crowd that made the stadium rumble and the energy that electrified the millions of people that had gathered on this day – you knew it was the return of the Grand Magic Games. As the teams took their places in their private booths, they would look around and see hundreds of rabid fans waving their team pennants and their handmade signs cheering for their favorite players. There was another decline in the number of Sabertooth fans – Sting was no doubt furious over the fact – while Team JNPR remained strong as the number one team, but there was also an increase in Fairy Tail fans after Natsu and Lucy's performances in the previous round. But there was still very little sign of fans for Team Sora, as to be expected from the team near the bottom.

Meanwhile, the Grand Magic Games commentators, Chapati Lola and Nio Hashiri, were standing by while joined by a new commentator to replace Yoruichi Shihōin and it was someone that Sora actually knew this time. Even from afar, he could recognize the bulky build and handsome blonde beard, but also those kind fatherly eyes behind them.

" **Welcome to day three of the Grand Magic Games!** " announced Chapati Lola. " **That puts us at the halfway point!** "

" **We've had some pretty good fights in the last two days, especially between Scarlett and Polendina** ," said Nio with a wicked grin. " **But I know we can top that. I wanna see some blood out there, people!** "

" **I personally will be on my best behavior around today's guest,** " said Chapati Lola, turning to the third commentator. " **He's a veteran fighter with a long, successful career on the battlefield as well as a former member of the legendary Team STRQ and former entrant of Sabertooth Please welcome Taiyang Xiao Long!** "

" **I think you might be exaggerating my reputation,** " said Taiyang over the enthusiastic applause. " **I just try to help whenever I'm needed. It's my honor to have a part in the Games since I couldn't compete in them.** "

"I was wondering what happened to Tai after the preliminaries," said Sora with a sense of relief, taking another big gulp of his super-sized soda that he ordered on the way to the VIP box. "It's good to know he's doing well after what happened. At least he's not moping around anymore." He took another big gulp. "We should tell him that Yang and Ruby are still alive when today's Games are done."

"That sounds like a good idea, but…" said Velvet wearily as Sora took another huge gulp of soda. "…that's your fourth super-size, Sora. You sure you should be drinking all that before the match?"

"It's fine," Sora waved off her concern. "I've got the bladder of a cactus."

"…What does that even mean?" asked Velvet, shaking her head in confusion.

" **Let's kick off this day with a game that's sure to be exciting,** " said Chapati Lola over the crowd's screams of excitement. " **One that we call Pandemonium!** "

"What the heck does Pandemonium mean anyway?" asked Honey.

"Usually it means chaos or panic," Stella informed knowledgably. "But sometimes it can be used to refer to a den of demons or monsters."

"Maybe it'll be set up like a haunted house game," said Olive thoughtfully. "The players walk down a long, dark hallway and then all of a sudden, a scary ghost pops out of nowhere….You know, I think I'll sit this game out," she added, slowly slipping down out of sight.

"Aw, sweetie," said Domino, patting her partner's head. "If it's really a Game like that, I'll push you into the arena myself."

" **As usual, we will have just one from each team competing, so please choose wisely,** " said Chapati Lola.

"I got this one," said Natsu, clenching his fist with determination. "I still need to make up for what happened last time."

"Hey, you screwed up that round, so it's not your turn," argued Gray.

"Yeah, Natsu, you're not the only one competing, you know," said Lucy.

"Right," nodded Erza. "So I'll play then. I'm certain you'd only complicate things for us further if you were to compete."

" **Stepping up from Team Fairy Tail is the infamous Queen of the Fairies, Erza Scarlett!** " announced Chapati Lola.

"Pandemonium sounds like it could be a huge hassle," said Sun thoughtfully. "It'd probably be a good idea to send our strongest player just in case."

"I'll do it," said Penny strongly, leaving no room for argument with her teammates. "If Erza Scarlett is competing this round, then I'll be the one to face her. I still need to redeem myself after my defeat on the first day."

" **And coming in close behind is Major Penny Polendina from Team Sora!** " announced Chapati Lola. " **It looks like the makings of a grudge match between the Fairy Queen and the Military Major!** "

"Oh man, a chance to show off for a member of the legendary Team STRQ!" said Stella, brimming with excitement as she lifted her cannon onto her shoulder. "No way I'm gonna miss this opportunity. As team leader, it's only right for me to carry my team to victory."

"Good luck, sweetie," said Olive, giving her wife a kiss on the cheek.

"Try not to screw up like you usually do," said Domino playfully.

" **Team SHDO is bringing out the big guns as Stella Stratos takes center stage!** " announced Chapati Lola.

"Nora and Ren already got us through the first two rounds," said Jaune. "So I guess it's my turn to show off."

"Good luck, Jaune," called Pyrrha as she watched her leader walk towards the stadium.

"Break their legs!" Nora was eloquent as always.

" **Not wanting to be outshone by Team SHDO, Team JNPR is sending Jaune Arc into the fray!** " announced Chapati Lola.

"Good luck out there, Inu-Tan," said Nya-Tan, patting the dog Zodiac roughly on the back.

"Why me?" Inu-Tan.

"Because we're the main characters," said Nya-Tan, referring to herself, Uri-Tan, and Mo-Tan. "If you die during the match, we can always replace you with Ki-Tan when she gets back."

"SO CRUEL!" Inu-Tan wailed tearfully.

" **And coming in from Team Eto is every man's best friend, Inu-Tan!** " announced Chapati Lola.

"I shall take over from here," said Yukino monotonously. "I must make amends for shaming the name of Sabertooth with my humiliating defeat."

"Just make sure you win this time," said Sting warningly. "Torchwick was really pissed last night."

Yukino didn't need a reminder as she touched her face, gingerly feeling the throbbing flesh that was swollen around her left eye. The white-haired woman still shivered at the memory – Torchwick forcing her to strip naked in front of her guild mates as he repeatedly beat her with his cane across the face, kicking her when she was a sobbing mess of her floor, and constantly told her that she was worthless trash. And the whole time, no one had stepped forward to stop him; they just watched Torchwick beat her until nearly every part of her skin was covered in bluish-purple bruises.

Yukino walked away with her head hanging shamefully, not noticing that Sting was staring at her back with a sympathetic gaze.

" **And last up from Team Sabertooth is the sensation Mistress of the Stars, Yukino Aguria!** " Chapati Lola concluded. " **Now that all the competitors have been chosen, it's time to get the games underway.** "

All eyes were drawn to the sky as a massive black magic circle popped into existence above Domus Flau. Must like what happened on the first day of the Games, all the magic in the arena was pulled together to form a gigantic structure from the dark glyph. The building that appeared resembled a gothic castle with many demon heads carved into the buildings, dangling chains that rattled fiercely like so many clinking bells, and a poisoned-looking root latched onto the castle like some kind of parasite. And on top of its already frightening appearance, the demonic castle was floating underside down with a long ramp leading up to what they assumed was the castle entrance.

"Damn, these people don't hold back," said Stella, whistling impressively.

"It certainly looks formidable," Erza agreed.

"That's because it is!" said Mato the Mascot, suddenly popping up out of nowhere in front of the contestants. "Before you stands a castle filled with vicious monsters! That's Pandemonium!"

"And I'm guessing the object of the game is to defeat the monsters inside?" asked Jaune.

"Yes, you are correct, sir," said Mato a little too excited. "One hundred terrifying beasts are lurking within the castle walls! But don't panic. There's no danger of them escaping and attacking crowd. They're magical projections we created solely for this game." He waved his hand to the side as a projection popped into the air, showing a chart with cartoonish images lined up in a pyramid. "They are classified by their degree of difficulty. We have five classes: D, C, B, A, and S class. The distribution breakdown is shown here. To give you an example, let me show you what a D-class monster is. They're the weakest, remember?"

With a rather insidious chuckle, the pumpkin-headed mascot raised his finger to the sky and a large projection spread across the surface of the castle. Through the holographic image everyone could get a better look at what the interior of the castle looked like as well as the monster that wandered its halls. The beast was truly massive – at least the size of a Giant Armor with a similarly styled surface – but it walked around like a Beowolf. The D-Class monster slammed its paws through one of the castle support beams and crushed it into dust. All members of the audience scream in terror of the beast, but the contestants took it in stride – they all had seen much scarier monsters than this.

"The Pandemonium castle is filled to the brim with these vile creatures," Mato continued. "And many more that are much stronger. One hundred monsters await you!"

"These games just keep getting more convoluted every day," said Uri-Tan.

"I'm just glad I'm not the one who has to go in there," said Nya-Tan with a smug, cat-like grin.

"Do you think Jaune will be all right?" Pyrrha asked in concern.

"Heck, yeah, he'll be fine!" said Nora confidently. "He's not that scrawny little kid back in Beacon anymore! I bet you Jaune could take them all on with one hand tied behind his back!"

"I wouldn't go that far," said Ren, shaking his head amusingly. "But we should have more confidence in Jaune's ability. Don't worry, he'll be fine."

"Monsters of a higher class are two times stronger than the ones beneath them," Mato continued to inform the contestants. "So if you think that D-class monsters look nasty, you'll lose your mind when the S-class rears its ugly head! I'm not even sure a Wizard Saint could beat one of those." Inu-Tan chuckled behind her hand – Team Eto had already beaten a Wizard Saint in the prelims. "You will all take turns in choosing the number of monsters that you wish to fight in each round. We call this 'the competitor's right to challenge'."

"So we make the choice?" asked Erza.

"That is correct," answered Mato. "For instance, say you want to fight three monsters, then lo and behold there will be three waiting inside for you. You will go in alone, of course. If you successfully vanquish those three creatures, you will then be awarded three points. The next competitor in the rotation will choose a number out of the ninety-seven that still remain to challenge. And then the process repeats. The game will end when either all the monsters have been cleared or at the point where everyone runs out of stamina – whichever comes first.

"So there's some math involved, huh?" said Yukino thoughtfully.

"Yes, to a degree," said Mato. "After the first round, choosing your numbers wisely will become a bit more important. But you'd do well to remember that not all of these monsters are created equal. Whether you choose to test skills against five monsters or only one, they will be chosen completely at random."

"So that means we'll have to strategize and use our heads to try and avoid going up against the S-class," Penny analyzed. "It's all about probability. The more monsters that are defeated by the other competitors, the more likely it will be that we be forced against the stronger monsters lurking inside. And I'm assuming that despite the different levels of the monsters, all the points will be based solely on the number of monsters we are capable of defeating, correct?"

"You are a smart one, aren't you?" said Mato. "Once you enter the castle, you will not be allowed to leave until you've successfully completed your challenge. If you are defeated during your challenge, you'll keep the points you've accumulated in the previous rounds, but you'll also be out of the game. No points will be awarded if you beat less than the number you challenged that round."

"Ugh, this is game is way too complicated!" Inu-Tan whined. "Uri-Tan, please switch with me!"

"Now if you're done complaining, it's time to decide the order," said Mato as a box with six sticks suddenly formed in his hands. "Everyone, please draw straws."

One by one, all of the competitors stepped forward and drew one of the six sticks in the box. When they pulled one from the box, a tiny magic circle with a number appeared on the end of it, telling them the order of which they were going in. Since they were too far away for anyone to see, the holographic board floating over the arena told them who drew what. Penny ended up drawing sixth, which meant she would be the last to enter Pandemonium. Jaune would be going third and Yukino took second while Inu-Tan went fourth, Stella had fifth, and Erza Scarlett drew number one.

"It looks like I'm going first," said Erza, humming in thought. "Interesting. I had assumed victory in this event relied entirely on the luck of the draw."

"It's far more than that," interjected Mato. "You have to consider pacing your opponent's strength, the likelihood of getting a really nasty monster – the list goes on and on. It is quite a complex game if you think about it."

"No," said Erza as a confident smile stretched across her lovely face. "In fact, this is no longer even a game." The other competitors looked at one another in confusion as the armored warrior stepped forward up to the ramp and declared in a booming voice for all to hear: "Inside this castle wait one hundred monsters! I choose to challenge all of them! I declare my right to challenge one hundred monsters!"

Erza Scarlett's sudden declaration had stunned everyone into silence. Some people looked down at the red-headed knight as if where were making a joke, or were considering the possibility that the complexity of the game had been too confusing and she hadn't paid attention. It certainly went over Sora's head. But no, Erza walked up the ramp into Pandemonium Castle with purpose as if declaring that she was serious. For once, the commentators were speechless, but Taiyang was very subtle as he laughed behind his hand along with the members of Team Fairy Tail, who seemed to think that Erza's challenge was something amusing.

"Has she lost her mind?" asked Velvet. "Challenging all one hundred monsters. That's madness."

"I don't know," said Sun, leaning his head in his hand and resting his elbow on the low wall, grinning. "I think it's kinda badass."

"You think she's gonna – ooh!" Sora groaned as his stomach made a loud, gurgling noise. Sun and Velvet slowly turned on him, eyes wide and ears perked. "That's not good."

"What was that?" Sun asked slowly.

"That would be my bladder exploding," moaned Sora as his stomach gurgled again. "Ooh, bathroom!"

I hate to say I told you so," Velvet shouted at him as the spiky-haired boy took off down the hall, "but I told you so!"

* * *

"Aaaah, sweet relief," Sora sighed unnecessarily long as he walked out of the bathroom. He could practically feel the stone walls rumbling as the crowd outside broke into another wave of electrified cheers. "Shoot, I'm missing all the action! Maybe if I run, if can still catch the last of Erza's challenge – if she's still fighting, that is."

The spiky-haired boy sprinted down the winding corridor and turned right into the plaza that had at least a dozen restaurants, several souvenir carts, and a hole-in-the-wall bar called the Golden Dragon. Sora cursed his luck that the only available bathroom in the entire stadium was the farthest from his team's VIP box (it had been a really close call for the scythe-wielder – he thought he wasn't going to make it). Thankfully, the crowd was small because most of them were watching the Games outside. Sora was running past the Golden Dragon bar when he heard a woman call out unnecessarily loud to the barkeeper:

"Strawberry sunrise, no ice, and one of those little umbrellas, too. Oh, and a glass of milk for my good buddy, Sora."

The abruptly named boy grounded his feet into the floor to bring himself to a screeching halt and spun around towards the Golden Dragon with his hands reaching for Lyrical Carnation. It was never a good thing, Sora learned the hard way, when a strange called him by name because that usually meant they were working with the bad guys. A woman with short blonde hair was sitting patiently at the bar with her back to turn him while the barkeep went around behind the counter to fulfill her order. Sora's hand was still hanging close by Lyrical Carnation when the woman finally turned in her seat…and once he got a good look at her face, both his hand and his jaw dropped.

"Hey, Sora, how's it going?" asked Yang playfully.

"Y – Yang?" Sora sputtered, his brain feeling like it was about to shut down. "Yang Xiao Long?"

"What, you've never seen a lady this drop-dead gorgeous before?" said Yang with a teasing laugh. "C'mon, sit, sit! Have a drink with me! Don't worry, I'm paying."

It took a moment for Sora to comprehend the situation before he finally screamed at his body to move and take a seat next to the powerhouse of Team RWBY. He couldn't stop looking at Yang like she was some kind of majestic creature, but she didn't seem to mind – she loved the attention.

As he looked over Yang, it was apparent why Sora didn't immediately recognize her at first. Her muscles were a lot more lean and taut than the photograph Penny had shown him, but it made her look even more elegant and beautiful if that was even possible. Her eyes had been violet in her team photo, but the woman sitting next to him had eyes like fiery-red gems that made him feel like he was staring into the face of an actual fire breathing dragon. But by far the biggest difference was her hair. In the old days of Team RWBY, it had been this wild mane of gold, but at some point during the missing ten years, Yang had chopped the entire thing off and only left a messy mop of blonde hair that stopped below her ears. It was a strange thing to see Yang Xiao Long with short hair – especially after all the stories Sun Told him about how crazy obsessed she was with it – but it seemed to suit her just fine.

Yang's attire, Sora noticed, seemed to be centered on a western theme. She wore black jeans that fit snuggly against her long legs – leaving very little to the imagination – with leather, brown knee-high boots and a purple bandanna wrapped around the top of her left boot. She wore an orange crop top that hugged her breasts so tightly Sora had a difficult time looking around and felt the heat rush to his face when the woman caught him staring. He didn't even try to look at the flaming-heart emblem threaded in black over heft right breast, or the black flower tattooed on her left breast directly over her heart, barely visible underneath. She had an orange scarf wrapped around her neck, a long brown trench coat thrown on the back of her chair, and a brown cowboy hat with a black ribbon around the rim. And though it didn't stand out as much as the rest of Yang's obvious attempt at sex appeal, Sora's eyes were drawn to the silver ring on Yang's left ring finger.

Wait a minute, Sora paused…a ring on Yang's left ring finger….Did that mean Yang was….

"Strawberry sunrise, no ice, with a little umbrella and a glass of cold milk," said the barkeep as he returned with their drinks, snapping Sora out of his thoughts.

"Keep 'em coming, my good man," said Yang, waving around a bag of what Sora assumed was Fiore's currency. "I wanna get a good buzz by the time I leave." The barkeep nodded and went to work on filling Yang for more alcohol. The blonde woman reached for the glass and Sora noticed the cybernetic arm that went up to her right elbow for the first time since he got there. Yang caught him staring before he looked away and flashed a devious grin. "Checking out the merchandise?"

"Uh – n-no, I wasn't – " Sora sputtered, berating himself in his head.

"Relax, Sora, I'm used to it," said Yang, flexing her cybernetic arm proudly. "It's not something I'm ashamed of – I consider it a badge of honor. It's a good reminder to myself to always think things through instead of rushing in head first. It was a hard lesson I needed to learn. But on the positive side, I did manage to pay back the son of a…beach that took my arm off. We're twinsies now. But enough about that – " Yang was very quick to change the subject and leaned closer to Sora as her eyes fell on Lyrical Carnation. "I see you've been taking care of my sister's scythe pretty well – even managed to get it upgraded. Nice."

"Yeah, those upgrades keep turning up in the weirdest places," said Sora, patting Lyrical Carnation. "I usually get them from friends after beating the bad guy. Kinda feels like I'm the star of a video game or something."

"Stranger things, am I right?" said Yang jokingly, drinking her entire glass in one gulp – the barkeep presented her with another. "I've been taking care of my uncle's weapons since he passed and I wanted to show it off to you, but the damn security confiscated it before I even made it to door." Yang pouted childishly and swallowed her second glass in one go – the barkeep prepared her third. As she swirled the contents of the glass with her cybernetic finger, she noticed Sora staring at her out of the corner of her eye and sighed. "I know that look. It's the same look Ruby always gave me when she was dying to ask a question, but was too scared to ask."

"Well, can you blame me?" replied Sora. "You've been missing for over ten years and you suddenly drop in out of nowhere. I have a lot of questions I want to ask."

"And I'll answer them to a certain extent," said Yang, swallowing her third glass and Barkeep handed her a fourth. "I can't answer all your questions for a reason, so just keep that in mind. Whatdya wanna know?"

"You were that woman in the black coat on the island," said Sora like he was stating a fact. "You were the one that gave me Crescent Rose and the one that told Atlas where to find me and told Porfessor Goodwitch to pick me up."

"Yep, yep, yep, and _yeeep_ ," said Yang, popping her lips at each 'yep'. "You know, if being a huntsman doesn't work out, you might have a real career as a detective."

"Why didn't you just tell everyone who you were?" asked Sora. "I'd think I'd be a lot easier if you at least told everyone you were alive. Your dad was so heartbroken when he thought you were gone."

"It's not that easy, Sora," said Yang with a depressing sigh. "Don't get me wrong, I love my dad and I wanted to tell him, but Team RWBY's made a lot of enemies over the years. Enemies that wouldn't hesitate to use our friends and families as leverage if they knew we were still alive. Nah, it's easier on everyone if they went on believing we're dead. And it makes it a lot easier to more around, too – the bad guys don't tend to go looking for dead people."

"I guess that makes sense," said Sora, nodding solemnly. "But why show up now?"

"I heard about little Vivio getting kidnapped on Mid-Childa," said Yang, once again swallowing the alcohol in one gulp before being presented with another. "I've been looking into it and it turns out that Vivio isn't the first person Zeref's Cabal has been kidnapping."

"Scaglietti told me about it before he died," Sora stated. "He said that Vivio was the sixth Maiden and that they were one step away from opening the Threshold. But what did he mean by that?"

"Well, that's a bit of a story there," said Yang, staring thoughtfully into space. "I guess I should start by explaining what the Maidens are. Well, the real name for what they are is a lot longer and can't be translated in most universal languages, so everyone pretty much sums them up as the Maidens. You see, the Maidend are a specific number of people like the Four Seasonal Maidens on Remnant, but actually a word to describe a specific type of person. The truth is that almost anyone is capable of being a Maiden, but they need to fulfill some…prerequisites to officially earn the title."

"Prerequisites?" Sora repeated, tilting his head in confusion.

"First off, they can only be women – kinda the point of the whole Maiden part," explained Yang. "And secondly, they need to have very strong souls. The kind that can not only repel the darkness, but can also overcome it and even sometimes control it. You of all people should understand how easy it is to be tempted by the darkness, so it's very rare to find someone with a strong enough soul to keep it in check. But they exist. Legend has it there is at least one Maiden on each world, but finding them is the hard part – like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Legend has it that if you bring seven Maidens together, you can summon the Threshold – a kind of door that leads to ultimate power or something like that."

"So that's what Zeref's after?" asked Sora. "He's trying to open this…Threshold thing or whatever?"

"Well, that's the tricky part," said Yang. Another swig, another glass. "Summoning the Threshold is the easy part. Getting it to open is another headache altogether. You have to remember that Threshold is only a door and the only way to open a door is with a key…." She lifted her glass to her lips, but didn't drink just yet. "Hmm, I wonder if Zeref is trying to forge another Keyblade like last time."

"A key…blade?" Sora repeated slowly as Yang knocked out another glass. "What's that?"

"Not something you need to worry about," said Yang as the Barkeep kept the alcohol coming. "You just leave that to me. You worry about saving those damsels in distress."

"Oh…okay," said Sora, feeling a little insulted that she didn't see fit to trust him with that information, but shrugged it off. "So does this mean you're finally join us on our adventure? We could definitely use the help."

"No can do, kid," Yang rejected the offer. "I've got my own affairs to sort out. As a matter of fact, I recently got a tip that might tell me where one of my friends ended up when we got separated. So I'm gonna be gone for a while. Just wanted to check up on you guys and make sure you're all right." As she knocked back another drink, the crowd inside the stadium rattled the coliseum with a fresh wave of cheers. "Sounds like the event's over. You might wanna get back to your teammates before they start to get suspicious and come looking for you."

"Shoot!" Sora cursed, drinking his glass of milk in one gulp and jumping off the bar stool. "Thanks for the drink!"

"Sora!" Yang called him just before he reached the hallway entrance. "The Maidens weren't the only thing Scaglietti mentioned to you, was it? Just remember to keep your eye peeled. Keep can change over time."

She was talking about Scaglietti's claims that there was a traitor on his team. Sora had almost forgotten about it with everything else that was going on, but Yang only confirmed his worst fears that someone on his team was really betraying information to Zeref's Cabal. With her head hanging low in thought, Sora spun around on his heel and raced down the corridor to his team's VIP box. Meanwhile, Yang turned back around in her seat and started slamming the counter with her cybernetic arm.

"Hey, barkeep, what's the hold up?" shouted Yang. "I'm still sober over here!"

* * *

 **GRAY FULLBUSTER vs. URI-TAN**

By the time he returned to Team Sora's VIP box, the Pandemonium Castle was nowhere in sight and Penny and rejoined the team with her arms crossed with her expression neutral – Sora couldn't tell if that meant things went well or poorly in the event. He settled himself in between Sun and Velvet as both preselected contestants for the battle rounds stepped onto the field. Gray Fullbuster came out from one end of the stadium, unconsciously stripping until he was bare-chested, much to the glee of many women and a few men. Uri-Tan from Team Eto, for her part, was polite enough not to stare and kept her head down shyly.

"Hey, where've you been?" Sun asked Sora when the spiky-haired boy finally turned up. "You missed the main event. It was kick ass."

"There was a long line for the bathroom," Sora excused, deciding to respect Yang's wishes to remain a secret. "So what'd I miss?"

"Erza pretty much destroyed Pandemonium on her own, so she got first place, obviously," Velvet informed him. "They had to do another event to compare power levels or something like that. It wasn't a total loss – Penny managed to grab us second place, but Jaune, well, he didn't do so hot. It's kinda hard for someone who can only use a sword and shield to score high on a machine that keeps track of power levels

"Well, at least we've been bumped up a rank," said Sora lightly. "That's something right?"

"We'd be in third if it wasn't for Scarlett," said Penny, tapping her finger irritably. "This is the third event and we've been hanging around the bottom of the leaderboard the entire time. At this rate, we'll never get the missing page."

Sora really didn't have any room to argue – it was not looking good for them.

" **We're halfway through day three of the Grand Magic Games, so let's take a look at the team's current standings,** " said Chapati Lola. " **After a spectacular performance from Erza, Fairy Tail jumps to the lead with thirty-six points. Meanwhile, Team JNPR, who came in last place from MPF, still holds on to second place with twenty-six points. Team Eto is still in third after scoring fourth in today's event with twenty-six points. And both Team Sora and Team SHDO both bump up a rank with twenty-four and twenty points respectively, while Sabertooth is bumped down to last place with a measly eighteen. This is turning out to be the worst year in Sabertooth's career, wouldn't you say, Tai?** "

" **I think it's a good lesson in humility for Sabertooth,** " said Taiyang earnestly. " **I've always found Sabertooth to be a condescending guild. I know I'm not supposed to play favorites, but I hope they don't win again this year.** "

" **I'd personally like to see SHDO do better,** " said Nio. " **They were doing so well on the first day and now they're getting their asses kick. They need to get it together.** "

" **Well, now might be their chance as we move on to the battle rounds!** " Chapati Lola shouted over the cheering section. " **First up is the cool wizard with the icy touch, Fairy Tail's Gray Fullbuster! And going up against him is the cute little piggy that's about to go hog-wild, Team Eto's Uri-Tan!** "

"You've got this one in the bag, Gray!" yelled Natsu. "Roast that little piggy!"

"Wait, you're gonna do what to me?" squealed Uri-Tan fretfully.

" **What's your professional opinion on today's combatants, Tai?** " asked Chapati Lola.

" **Gray's is a strong contender because of his Ice-Make Magic,** " said Taiyang. " **It's a versatile type of magic that is only limited to his imagination. Uri-Tan, on the other hand, is a complete mystery. They didn't really develop her in the anime and just made her a gag character that constantly gets killed in every episode. I have no idea what she can do, so she has the advantage of anonymity.** "

" **This is why people need to read the manga** ," Neo interjected.

" **Okay, that's enough fourth wall breaking,** " said Chapati Lola quickly. " **Let's get this match started!** "

"Time for you to chill out!" shouted Gray. He pounded his fist into his open palm and an icy mist started to rise on contact. " **Ice-Make: Lance!** "

He threw his hand into the air and a magical circle appeared over his palm, summoning a little over a dozen spears made from solid ice. As the frozen lances started to fall on top of her, Uri-Tan casually bounced backwards out of the way of the first projectile, cartwheeled to the right to avoid the second, and then skipped into the air to bounce over the third. While the Eto-Shin momentarily hovered in the air, Gray waved the magic circle around and redirected his lance to follow Uri-Tan. The boar Zodiac tilted her head and saw them coming toward her from below, but Uri-Tan skillfully twisted her body around in the air and slipped through a narrow gap between the arrows. She landed in a crouched position back on the ground as the lancers dissipated into crystalized powder overhead.

"You're making ice pun?" questioned Uri-Tan with a disappointed shake of her head. "That totally doesn't fit your character. You don't wanna end up like those cliché anime characters that are always making puns about their powers, do you?"

"Then stop me if you've heard this one before," said Gray, suddenly standing behind Uri-Tan with his fist in his palm. " **Ice-Make: Ice Hammer!** "

The shirtless wizard pulls his fist away from his hand and draws out a long, spiked hammer made of solid ice from his hand. Before the Eto-Shin had a chance to realize what had happened and looked over her shoulder, Gray had brought the club down on top of her head and the ground beneath her exploded into a cloud of dust upon impact with icy shards flying every which way. The crowd and Team Fairy Tail exploded with cheers while the members of Team Eto screamed in panic – they suddenly realize that sending someone with a running gag for dying every episode might not have been the best choice.

" **What an amazing start from Gray Fullbuster of Team Fairy Tail!** " said Chapati Lola excitedly. " **He wasted no time backing his opponent into a corner and nailed with a one-two hit combo! This is one of the greatest displays of Maker Magic I've ever seen in my career as a sports commentator.** "

" **Gray definitely shows a lot promise,** " said Taiyang, nodding in agreement. " **And his magic has the largest range of options to choose from. I think this might really be it for Uri-Tan.** "

" **You're both idiots** ," Nio insulted them, making her fellow commentators look to her curiously. " **This is why I keep tell you to read the manga. Uri-Tan's not out of the game just yet.** "

Down in the arena, Gray noticed there was something off with his ice hammer: it was being met with a lot of resistance. When the dust had settled, Gray saw what was keeping her Maker Magic at bay and his eyes went wide with shock before he jumped away, dissolving the frozen weapon in his hand. When the dust started to settle, Uri-Tan stood up with a cunning smirk while she was riding some…thing that had acted as her shield….It looked like a boar – there was no better way to describe it. It was a high-tech, futuristic-looking mechanical boar with rocket engines for legs and a rocket booster burning out of the back with a pair of machine guns coming out where it's tusks would be.

The crowd was in a stunned silence – Nio was grinning menacingly.

"What the hell?!" Gray's furious yell broke the silence and pointed an accusing finger at Uri-Tan. "You can't break some sci-fi robot pig to a fight! That's against the rules!"

" **Is it against the rules?** " asked Taiyang, turning to his colleagues.

" **The only rule in the Grand Magic Games is that there aren't any rules!** " Nio cackled superiorly. " **Sucks to be you, Fullbuster!** "

"Tch, fine, whatever," said Gray begrudgingly. "You know what, it doesn't even matter. I can still take you and your…what is that thing, anyway?"

"It's my Eto-Shin weapon," said Uri-Tan proudly. "I call it The Boar of Erymanthus."

"Crap, it even has an awesome name!" yelped Gray, stunned.

" **Well, this is turning into a surprising turn of events,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Looks like this little piggy isn't crying wee-wee-wee just yet.** "

"Cut it out with the pig jokes already!" Uri-Tan pouted.

But while the zodiac goddess was distracted by the repetitive theme of boar-related jokes, Gray slammed his fist into his open palm and fired off a barrage of frozen, crescent-shaped blades. Uri-Tan felt the subtle chill of the ice magic upon her skin and refocused her attention back on Fullbuster. The little pig goddess squealed in a fright and kicked the mechanical boar's sides. Uri-Tan's boar nosily cocked its machine gun tusks before it started peppering the oncoming attack, shattering each of the crescent blades in midair and littering the arena floor with the empty casings. Once all of the frozen projectiles were destroyed, the Boar of Erymanthus still had a lot of ammunition left over and started shooting the ground towards Gray. The Ice-Make wizard quickly took his stance a shaped a snowflake-patterned shield and deflected the shots just before they could connect, which unfortunately sent the bullets spraying in every direction in the arena.

"Hey! Watch where you're aiming those things, you jerk!" yelled Natsu, having just barely dodged an oncoming bullet.

"You idiot! I can't control what she does!" Gray snapped back. "And even if you take a shot to the head, so what? Your skull's so thick, it'd just break the bullet instead!"

"What was that?" screamed Natsu. "Get up here so I can beat the crap out of you!"

"I'd like to see you try – "

Gray hadn't noticed the punishment his shield had taken because he was too busy having a screaming match at his teammate until Uri-Tan and her weapon came barreling through the wall, beautifully decorated by the flying ice shards in the background. Uri-Tan's intentions were to ram her Boar of Erymanthus into Gray's gut to knock the wind out of him and light him up while he was down, but Uri-Tan had miscalculated and ended up ramming her weapons a little more…south of the board…right where a man would never want to be hit.

The entire stadium automatically became stiff and silent, their faces frozen with their jaws dropped and their eyes blankly wide as if petrified in stone; even Uri-Tan was stunned by her own actions. And as for Gray…he had literally lost all his color save for the trail of blood that slipped down the corner of his mouth; his eyes were completely blank and devoid of life….Uri-Tan slowly backed up her Boar of Erymanthus (complete with beeping noises) and curved sideways. The instant she was out of the way, Gray dropped to his knees and then hit the stadium floor face first, practically dead on the ground.

It was literally a full two minutes of stunned silence before Nio (since Taiyang and Chapati Lola moaning sympathetically) broke everyone out of their stupor.

" **Well, that's not how I would've expected to end the match,** " said Nio nonchalantly. " **Honestly, it seems anticlimactic after all that build up, but a win is a win, even if it was a cheap shot to the gonads. The winner of the battle rounds is Uri-Tan from Team Eto. With the added ten points, that puts Team Fairy Tail and Team Eto tied for second place – a second blow to Team Fairy Tail's pride!** " she added with a wicked cackle.

"I'm so sorry!" Uri-Tan apologized, bowing deeply to Gray.

* * *

 **LIE REN vs. NEOPOLITAN**

After the paramedics hauled the comatose Gray Fullbuster off the field and into the ER, the crowd quickly shifted gears and ramped themselves up with excitement when they announced that the next match would be starting immediately after. Lie Ren emerged on one side of the field, fashionably taking off his glasses and tossed the lengthy braid off his shoulder, which made all the woman squeal – the power of the hair was strong with this one, Sora thought to himself, self-consciously touching his own pointed locks. And on the opposite end of the field, Neo casually sauntered into the coliseum with her parasol leaning against her shoulder, twirling the umbrella and skipped across the battleground like she was taking a morning stroll through the meadow – Team Sora didn't like it.

" **Okay, moving on from that – I'm just gonna say it – very awkward match, it's about time to start the second round,** " said Chapati Lola. " **Let's hear it for the man with the fabulous hair that makes women weep with jealousy, Lie Ren of Team JNPR. He'll be facing off against the silent assassin of Team Sabertooth, Neo.** "

"Out of all the people he could have gone up against, it had to be her," said Jaune, grimacing.

"Whatdya mean by that?" asked Nora aghast. "Ren can totally kick her skinny butt!"

"She took out Taiyang and the members of Sora's team in the preliminaries," Pyrrha reminded her. "And years ago, she defeated Yang without taking a single hit. I don't think the odds are in Ren's favor."

" **Ren has been a fan favorite since day one,** " said Chapati Lola, " **But this is the first time anyone has seen Neo in action since the main Games began. Could she be hiding a trip up her sleeve that will leave Ren eating the dirt, or will Ren pull off another miracle win to pull Team JNPR to the top of the scoreboard?** "

" **I think we all know how this is gonna end,** " said Nio conceitedly. " **Let's just get the match over with. Ring the gong already!** "

The gong rang out from above the stadium; Ren's hands instantly flew to StormFlower and began to pepper Neo with a shower of dust-infused bullets. The silent assassin of Sabertooth smirked as she casually pivoted on her heel, facing her back to Ren, and tilted her parasol lower to cover her backside. StormFlowers bullets harmlessly bounced off the fabric of Neo's weapon, even the explosive and electrified Dust. With a solemn grimace, Ren emptied the barrel of his pistols, charged at Neo, and started slashing the woman with StormFlower's blades.

Neo closes the parasol, spins around with the umbrella, and deflects Ren's first slash before bending backwards to avoid the second strike. Ren quickly dropped down to the ground and did a sweep kick to Neo's legs, but the silent assassin casually flipped backwards into the air to dodge the sweep. But in that moment when Neo still hovered above the ground, Ren quickly whipped out his twin pistols again and began spraying her with another barrage of ammunition. Neo only had time to tilt her head back, mouth going "O"-shaped in surprise, before the bullets pelted her squarely in the chest….Neo literally fell to pieces with a sharp _crack_ like someone smashing a mirror.

"What the?" sputtered Ren.

" **Oh no, looks like Ren got played by Neo's special power!** " said Chapati Lola. " **By the way, what is her special power?** "

" **Apparently, she has the power to make very convincing illusions,** " said Nio before she suddenly glared down at the battlefield. " **Wait a minute! First she practically copies my name, now she copies my assassination technique! I'm suing your skinny ass, you hear me, ice cream girl!** "

" **Maybe we can set that aside for a later date,** " said Chapati Lola. " **But the question on everyone's mind right now is, where's Neo?** "

Ren staggers around in a full circle with StormFlower pointed in opposite directions as he snapped his head back and forth trying to find the elusive woman. But as the long-haired warrior started to roam around in another circle, Neo suddenly appeared directly behind him as if she had literally been made out of thin air. A long cylindrical blade extended from the shaft of her closed umbrella as she slowly lifted the tip aimed at the base of Ren's spine and jabbed him. Fortunately, Ren's acute senses allowed him to detect Neo's presence at the last second and spun around, deflecting the parasol at the very last second with StormFlower. Neo frowned with disappointment.

Ren jumped away from Neo, but the ice cream theme woman rushed at him to close the distance again, stabbing her bladed parasol at his chest, which Ren deflected. The long-haired man returned the attack with a few swipes of his own pistol-daggers, but Neo effortlessly deflected each swing with her umbrella while literally holding one arm behind her back, opening mocking him. After deflecting another swing, Neo did a swift kick to Ren's gut. The man from Anima staggered backwards by a couple paces, bracing himself – for such a little woman, she certainly packed a punch. But Neo wasn't allowing him the chance to recover. The ice cream themed woman relentlessly pummeled Ren back and forth with a flurry of kicks that Ren had no hope of blocking, ending with Neo striking him below the chin with a rising kick that caused him to flip backwards.

While flipping through the air, Ren throws up his hands and pushes against the ground to correct himself and land safely on his feet again. He starts to straighten himself and lift up his guns when Neo suddenly dashes directly into his face with a malevolent grin. She knocked StormFlower out of Ren's hands with a simple one-two swipe before hooking his ankle with handle of her umbrella, yanking his foot out from under him. Ren lands painfully on his butt – he winces slightly – and stared up at the pointed tip of Neo's weapons held directly over his throat.

Ren narrows his eyes up at Neo, who was obviously soaking up the joy in this moment, before he hangs his head in defeat and sighs with the bell rings, ending the match.

" **And that's the match, folks!** " Chapati Lola shouted over the cheering section. " **Talk about a one-sided victory! Despite Ren's best efforts, he was completely outmatched by Neo of Sabertooth. Can anyone beat this mute mistress of miniature might?** "

" **How long were you waiting to say that one?** " asked Nio, snickering.

"Damn," Sun cursed, slamming his fist on the stone wall. "Even Ren couldn't beat her. If we don't figure out a way to beat her, Sabertooth is gonna kick our butts when the finals come around."

But while the monkey Faunus vocalized his complaints with Penny and Sora, Velvet's attention was focused solely on Neo as she casually walked away, giving a sarcastic cheer to the crowd. Since The beginning of the match, Velevt's eyes had been locked only on Neo, not paying attention to anything other than the way her body moved and how she carried herself with her umbrella. While the rest of her team might not have noticed, Velvet's hands were closing around the air at her side, imaging that there was an umbrella in it.

" **Well, it's about time for the last match of the day and it's sure to be an exciting one!** " said Chapati Lola. " **From Team Sora, it the spiky-haired wonder of the wind, Sora! And from Team SHDO, it the big bad grizzly girl with a heart of old, Honey Malaya!** "

" **I've watched Honey compete in the Vytal Festival for four years,** " said Taiyang. " **Let me tell ya, she can pack a heck of a punch, but she can also be light on her feet. And speaking of being light on his feet, Sora's no slouch in a foot race either as we've all seen on the second day. But it's gonna take a lot more than being fast to beat a major powerhouse like Honey.** "

"All right!" Sora cheered. "It's my turn to fight!"

"You should use that new upgrade Squid Girl gave you," suggested Penny.

"Oh, good idea," said Sora.

He pulled out the _**Lyrical Carnation**_ scroll from the hidden slot underneath the scope – temporarily reverting it to Crescent Rose – and replaced it the new _**Colorful Indigo**_ scroll he just got. The familiar metallic sand rolled over the scythe for a few seconds before it decided on its shape, solidified, and added the missing color. His new Colorful Indigo Scythe was a lot heavier than Lyrical Carnation, roughly the same as Crescent Rose, and looked like a mixture of the different paint weapons in Inkopolis. The light-blue shaft was modeled after the Paint Roller while the gun on top resembled the muzzle of an E-Liter 3K, the scythe's frame was a metallic-blue with an inkling design on the circular swivel with its two tentacles stretching back to a pair of rubbery fangs (which we essentially uselessly since they couldn't stab or cut anything). But the blade itself was the most difficult. After Sora inspected Colorful Indigo's blade, he realized –

"It doesn't have an edge," said Sora, pressing his finger against the rubbery material. "How'm I supposed to fight with a weapon that doesn't have an edge?"

"Maybe it has other abilities," said Velvet optimistically.

" **Will the contestants please make their way to the arena at this time?** " asked Chapati Lola over the loudspeaker.

"Well, nothing I can do about it now," said Sora begrudgingly. "Just gonna make do and hope for the best."

* * *

 **SORA vs. HONEY MALAYA**

As the crowd chanted their names and the commentators boasted the two players accomplishments (Sora's list was a lot smaller than Honey's), he felt a sense of unease about the match as he stepped onto the field. Whether it was because he had no faith in his Colorful Indigo's abilities or because Honey was an accomplished Huntress with over a decade of experience, Sora did not like his chances. The bear Faunus in contrast walked with a sense of purpose and a proud smile on her face, but did not show a hint of conceit like the other competitors that had fought today. Both competitors approached the center of the arena where Mato the Macot was waiting for them. Sora's hand flexed anxiously around Colorful Indigo's shaft; his brow furrowed and his mouth curved into a deep frown –

"Hey, Sora," Honey's southern drawl broke him out of his stupor. "Ya feelin' 'kay? You're not sick, are ya?"

"N-No, not really," Sora sputtered in embarrassment. "Just a little nervous, I guess. I've never fought one-on-one in front of a huge crowd before."

"Now don't y'all worry 'bout them," said Honey kindly. "This is just a friendly match. People all gettin' upset 'cause of the big Game that they forget that this is supposed ta be 'bout havin' fun. So let's just forget the tournament and have a good, clean match. Y'all better not hold back on me, ya hear."

"Uh, yeah, sure," said Sora, surprised that the Bear Faunus was acting so nice, but he did feel a little better.

" **Now that's good sportsmanship right there,** " said Chapati Lola approvingly.

" **Ugh, I can feel my teeth rotting from here,** " Nio complained.

"Now remember, you have thirty minutes to defeat to opponent," informed Mato the Mascot. "Let's give the people a fight to remember. Let the third and final match of the third day…BEGIN!"

"First hit takes the win!" shouted Sora.

The scythe-wielder ground his feet into the dirt, called upon his semblance, and dashed out of sight in a blur of speed. Honey looked momentarily confused until she sensed Sora appearing directly behind her with his scythe reeled over his shoulder. The bear Faunus gained a brief glow of yellow aura at the same moment that Sora swung his weapon and dropped into a kneeling position, barely ducking under the swipe. Sora mentally scolded himself – he had completely forgotten Honey's ability to decrease her own weight to make herself faster. The spiky-haired boy attempted a vertical swipe with Colorful Indigo followed up by two diagonal swipes through the air, but Honey sidestepped the first attack and did a barrel roll through the next few attacks.

Honey landed back on the ground on all fours and activated her semblance again; the ground beneath her limbs cracked with the sudden increase in weight. The bear Faunus lifted her leg and swiped it across the air for Sora's head, but the spiky-haired boy effortlessly dodged blow – the increase in weight had severely decreased Honey's speed. Honey followed through with the momentum of her leg, spinning around on her other foot, and brought her fist around with her gauntlet baring its blades. With no time to dodge, Sora raised Colorful Indigo to his defense. Honey's clawed gauntlet stabbed the spongy substance of the scythe's blade and, to Sora's amazement, not only did it bounce Honey's weapons off, but it also knocked the bear Faunus – who was twice Sora's size – off her feet and tossed her well over a couple dozen feet.

Honey rolled against the dirt until she stabbed her clawed gauntlets into the ground to stop herself. Her expression was the same as Sora's – a mixture of shock and amazement. Sora took another look at Colorful Indigo, taking notice that the spongy blade was free of any marks or damage that would normally come with being attacked by knives. He poked at the squishy material of the scythe's blade and watched it ripple like water before resuming its natural state.

"Okay, not so useless," said Sora, sounding very impressed.

"Sora's upgrade doesn't have an edge to cut," said Penny analytically, "but it's defensive capabilities have increased significantly and it makes and excellent blunt weapon that could do a lot of damage if used correctly."

"Kinda like my weapons," said Sun proudly. "Maybe I should teach him a few moves."

"Great, now who's gonna teach you those moves," said Velvet jokingly; Sun leered and Penny snickered behind her hand.

"Did our eight-foot, couple-hundred pound Faunus partner just get knocked on her ass?" asked Domino, turning blindly to her teammates.

"It looks like she was repelled by his weapon," said Olive worriedly. "It's different than the way it looked in the Chariot races. I hope Honey will be all right."

"Relax, sweetheart," said Stella, putting a comforting arm around her wife. "Honey's a tough daughter of a bear Faunus. She's only just getting started."

" **Only a couple of minutes into the fight and Sora has already landed the first blow!** " said Chapati Lola excitedly as Honey flips back to her feet. " **But did he unknowingly wake the sleeping bear?** "

"Gonna admit, I wasn't 'expectin' that," said Honey, still smiling eagerly. "That dun got me fired up!"

Honey yellow aura flashed and the bear Faunus shot across the field in a blur of speed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. She performed a quick sidekick that Sora blocked with the shaft of his scythe, but the spiky-haired huntsman noticed too late that Honey slid her foot down the weapon's shaft until it reached the crook in the blade. Honey pushed her foot down on the blade and forced it to the ground while she twisted around in the air, light as a feather, carrying her clenched fist in a circle. Honey aura flashed again a split-second before she slammed her gauntlet into his cheek, ringing the boy's skull like a bell. Sora was almost sent flying across the stadium, but he gripped Colorful Indigo's handle at the last second and pulled. The scythe's crook was still wrapped around Honey's ankle and pulled the bear Faunus's foot out from under her while acting as a support for Sora to land back on his feet.

Honey hit the ground with her back, but quickly rolled with the momentum a few yards away from Sora and shot straight back to her feet. She resumed her battle stance when she noticed that Sora was aiming the barrel of Colorful Indigo's at her and was loading a fresh magazine with a lightning bolt symbol etched into the cartridge. He pulled back the bolt action to load the Dust Bullet and his finger went straight for the trigger.

"Take this!" yelled Sora. " **Thunder Shot!** "

"Is he really calling out his attack?" asked Penny, tilting her head.

"Hey, everyone else is doing it," Sun shrugged.

When Sora pulled the trigger, he was only expecting a small bolt of electricity to shoot out like it always did, but instead he was knocked flat on his butt when a massive surge of electricity exploded from the barrel like an electric dam had just burst open. Honey yelped, activated her semblance, and dashed out of the way. The lightning bolt traveled across the stadium unabated until it hit the far side and smashed through the concrete like a speeding truck, creating a hole in the wall that was still sparking with electricity.

Sora throw himself back up in a sitting position, gapped in awe of the damage he had caused, and looked down at Colorful Indigo again.

"I take back everything I said about you," Sora told Colorful Indigo.

"Holy crap, what was that?" Sun squeaked in amazement.

"Besides its defensive capabilities," said Penny thoughtfully, "it appears that this new upgrade also amplifies the use of Dust, making them three times more powerful. Ruby certainly knew what she was doing when she made it."

Back on the field, Sora starts to stand back up using Colorful Indigo as a crutch when a hand suddenly shot out from the side and grips the shaft of his scythe. Sora looks up with a sharp gasp and finds himself standing face-to-face (or at least he would if her were a few feet taller) with Honey.

"Y'all just fulla suprises, ain't ya," said Honey. Sora tried to pull his weapon back with both hands, but Honey activated her semblance again and her grip becomes stronger. "Y'all keep usin' them fancy trick, and I'll admit that they are pretty useful in a fight, but y'all gave up yer biggest weakness: this special scythe." With a flick of her wrist, Honey pries Colorful Indigo out of Sora's hands and sending it flying in some random direction. Before the spiky-haired boy could go after it, Honey grabs him by the collar and lifts him off the ground. "Y'all ain't so tough without yer weapon. Without that scythe o' yours, yer helpless."

"Oh yeah!" Sora argued before he throw a sucker punch at Honey's cheek. All he ended up doing was hurting his knuckle. "Owww…okay, maybe you've got a point."

"Sorry ta do this to ya, lil' buddy," Honey apologized as she pulled back her fist. "But I gots me a game ta win."

The bear Faunus drills him squarely in the stomach and launches him across the stadium, bouncing off the dirt repeatedly like a rock skipping water. It took a few tries in doing, but Sora manages to plant the soles of his shoes, dig his fingers into the ground, and slid to a stop on all fours. Though a little winded, Sora takes a deep breath to collect himself and locks gazes with Honey. The towering giant was bouncing on the tips of her toes with her fists raised like a boxer's. His gaze travels sideways to the far side of the arena where Colorful Indigo was lying uselessly on the ground, just waiting for Sora to pick up. He looked back at Honey and noticed that she had been eyeing the scythe too and no doubt already understood what Sora was planning. Since there was no point in hiding it, Sora just did the most logical thing:

He ran for it.

He activated his speed semblance and crossed the field in a blur of motion, stretching his hand out for the scythe that was only a few feet away. Unfortunately, Honey used her own semblance and cut him off. Her aura briefly flashed, spun around the air with her leg outstretched, and slammed her heel in Sora's back directly between his shoulder blades, sending a shiver of dulled pain up and down his spine. The spiky-haired boy hit the ground hard, forming a small crater in the dirt, but quickly pushed himself up to a kneeling position just as Honey landed back on her feet. Sora watched the bear Faunus quickly shift her footing before swinging her leg around for a roundhouse kick; Sora dodged the kick and made a dive for Colorful Indigo.

Sora's hand was right there, just hover over the scythe, all he needed to do was close his hand and it would be his again. But at the very last second, Sora felt a sharp tug at his right ankle and was pulled backwards; his fingers barely brushed against Colorful Indigo's shaft. Sora was flipped into the air and momentarily floated at eye level with Honey, who was pulling her fist back.

"I ain't gonna let ya get the drop on me," Honey proclaimed.

Honey slammed her palm into Sora's face and threw the boy away, but Sora caught himself in the air and landed on his feet. The scythe warrior grimaced – there was no way Honey was going to move out of the way, which meant the only way around her was through her.

Sora gathered up his speed, shot at the bear Faunus like a speeding bullet, and swung a furious spinning kick directly at Honey's collarbone. Sora flipped backwards on his feet and bounced back again, throwing a blinding flurry of kicks combined with his speed semblance that made him look like he had suddenly grown ten pairs of legs. Over and over without rest, Sora kicked at every part of the bear Faunus he could reach (if this were a fighting game, he would already have reached a two hundred hit combo). After nrearly exhausting all of his enegry attacking the towering giant, Sora stepped back, panting heavily, as he inspected his work…and suddenly felt his stomach drop.

Honey stood over him with her arms folded across her chest, her head tilted to the side, and a small smile across her features. After giving her body a quick onceover, Sora came to the horrible realization that his attacks had done absolutely no damage – she didn't even have a bruise or a scratch. Sora was frozen in his shoes, the overwhelming reality of his own weakness catching up to him. And in that moment, Honey raised her fist slowly over her head…and brought it down on top of Sora's.

 _ **BOOM!**_

The scythe wielder suddenly found himself face planted into the dirt, his skull throbbing something fierce, while he could feel his protective aura shattering like glass. He could hear the final bell ringing in the background and the audience jumping up in cheers.

" **And that match point, folks!** " Chapati Lola shouted over the frenzied crowd. " **Though it looked like Sora had the advantage at first, Honey quickly turned the fight around and dominated in the second half. Guess that's what you can expect from both strength and experience.** "

" **Not only that, but Honey pointed out a major flaw in Sora's strategy,** " added Taiyang. " **She took advantage of his dependency on his weapon and pushed the battle in her favor. Against any other opponent, Sora might not have had trouble so much trouble without his scythe, but Honey Malaya is a literal mountain of muscle. He didn't stand a chance after that.** "

Sora grunted and groaned as he pushed himself up to all fours, drowning in obvious disappointment, when as hand reached out in front of him. He looked up at Honey, who was smiling kindly as she offered to help him up.

"That looked like it hurt," said Honey shyly. "I'm sorry 'bout that. Y'all okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Sora. Despite winning, Honey was still so nice that Sora couldn't help smiling back when he accepted her hand. "I've taken a much worse beating than that."

"That was a lot of fun," said Honey sincerely as she pulled the boy to his feet. "Y'all definitely have a lotta untapped potential. Y'all gonna be a fierce contender once yer trained up a bit. When that day comes, how's 'bout you and I have a lil' rematch? Whaddya say?"

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Next time, I definitely won't lose."

"I'm countin' on it," said Honey, chuckling happily.

" **Is that not the sweetest thing you've ever seen?** " Chapati Lola gushed. " **Even though they're on rivalling teams, that doesn't mean they can't be good friends. This is the true spirit of the Grand Magic Games right here ladies and gentlemen!** "

" **Someone get me a bucket cause I'm about to hurl,** " Nio complained, making a retching sound into the microphone.

"Well, we might still be at the bottom, but I guess something good came out of this," said Penny, smiling softly.

"This just means we have to work twice as hard in the next two rounds," said Sun excitedly. "That just gets me pumped!"

" **And with that sweet display of good sportsmanship, we end the third day of the Grand Magic Games,** " announced Chapati Lola. " **Here are the latest standings for our teams.** "

 **Team Fairy Tail – 36pts  
Team Eto – 36 pts  
Team SHDO – 30pts  
Team Sabertooth – 28pts  
Team JNPR – 26pts  
Team Sora – 24pts**

" **Fairy Tail still holds a strong lead with thirty-six points despite Gray's humiliating defeat,** " said Nio. " **But now they are tied for second with Team Eto thanks to said humiliating defeat. Team SHDO bumps up in the ranks again with thirty points, while Neo's victory claws Sabertooth out of last and into fourth with twenty-eight points. Meanwhile, the crowd favorite since day one has fallen back into fifth place after losing both the MPF and the battle round with twenty-six points while Team Sora is right back where they started in last place with twenty-four points.** "

" **There's only a twelve point difference in the scores, which means it's still anybody's game,** " said Chapati Lola. " **I'd like to thank our special guest, Taiyang Xaio Long, for being here with us today. Until next time, this is Chapati Lola wishing you a good day.** "

" **And I'm Nio Hashiri** ," said Nio with a two-fingered salute. " **Good night, everybody!** "

* * *

But it would not be a good night long, at least not for the Sabertooth Guild.

After dusk had fallen and the Gaes were long since finished for the day, Roman Torchwick had called all the members of the guild he owned to the main hall of the inn they were staying in. Everyone had formed together in lines with their hands behind their backs and their heads bowed, much like slaves bending to their master. In the very front row was Yukino standing between Sabertooth's twin Dragon Slayers, shivering unconsciously. Roman sat in the throne he had specially made for him, leering down at the guild members with Neo smiling maliciously beside him, and for a long time he said nothing, which only made the guild even more fearful.

"…Yukino," said Roman slowly, making the woman stiffen in fright. "I gave you a second chance to redeem yourself and you screwed it up. When you're a member of Sabertooth, you are expected to win no matter what. Clearly you haven't learned your lesson from last time. The only reason I'm not kicking you out yet is because the only competent people that can replace you are all out on jobs."

"But Master, she didn't fail," Sting argued in Yukino's defense. "She got fifth place and – "

"Shut up, Sting," said Roman harshly, silencing the man. "I still haven't forgotten about the embarrassment you brought to the guild in the Chariot races." He slowly stood up and approached them by a ew feet with Neo loyally at his side. "Yukino…it seems the lesson of Sabertooth's creed hasn't sunk in yet. Perhaps a…refresher course is in order. Neo!"

The ice cream themed woman rushed forward and grabbed Yukino by her hair, dragging at to Roman and forcing her to kneel at his feet. Then Neo grabbed a fistful of Yukino's cloak, ripped it off of her shoulders, and proceeded to tear the rest of her clothing with the whole guild force to watch and say nothing. It took all of Sting's inner strength to bite back his tongue as he was forced to watch Yukino naked on the floor trying fruitless to cover herself up with fearful tears flooding down her cheeks. Once Neo was done stripping her, Roman stepped closer to the woman who was breathing frantically, beating his cane against his palm threateningly.

"Lesson number one," said Roman darkly as he reeled back his cane. "Sabertooth – doesn't – lose!"

Sting closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, but his sharp Dragon Slayer senses forced him to listen to every painful scream that followed each sickening _thud_. He clenched his fist until his hand started to bleed, wishing for the noises to stop.

* * *

 **I apologize to those who wanted to see the full event. Anyone who wanted to see Erza's battle in Pandemonium Castle can see it in the anime adaption of Fairy Tail, and the MPF was just too tedious to write afterwards. But mostly this was supposed to be an world building chapter reintroducing Yang to the RWBY universe, explaining what she's been doing since she disappeared, and setting up key details that will be extremely important in the future.**

 **And though it was unintentional at first, I wanted to point out the major flaw in Sora's character: his dependence on his weapon. Even in the Kingdom Hearts games, Sora was practically useless without the Keyblade, having to rely on other people and weak magic to get him by. It's a weakness he shares with Ruby, who at this point in the canon seems to be even weaker than Jaune. But unlike Ruby, Sora is capable of hand-to-hand combat against normal enemies because of his years of training with Riku on the island.**


	31. A Slice of Life, Part 3

**Chapter Thirty: A Slice of Life , Part 3**

 **TRAVERSE TOWN**

Sora hopped over the last moving rock across the underground land and stepped onto the small island that served as Glynda Goodwitch's temporary base of operations.

His team had come back to Traverse Town after the third day ended for the Grand Magic Games (they were in last place again, but they were surprisingly optimistic about their chances) looking to resupply their stock on Dust and other necessities. Since the next world was called Arkham Asylum, Velvet had wanted to make she was extra prepared by snapping pictures of every item in the weapon shop in case there was a chance the criminal broke out of their cells (which was very likely given their track record). So while the rest of his team were out shopping, Sora remembered he still had two pages from Akari's book from Silent Hill and Inkopolis and decided now would be a good time to check up on her.

He walked around to the side where the curtain covered the hole in the wall when it suddenly pulled back just as he was about to reach out for it. Sora jumped back in brief surprise when someone stepped out, who looked equally surprised to see Sora standing there. When the spiky-haired boy regained his bearings, he looked over the strange man coming out of Glynda's house.

He was a tall man if not a little gangly like Sora, but had a slight muscular build that showed he worked hard regularly. He had a tanned complexion with rows of freckles on his cheeks and messy black hair, but his most interesting feature was that he had eyes with central heterochromia (mostly green iris with a ring of yellow around the pupil). Sora couldn't make out much else of the stranger because he was wearing a hooded black coat very similar to the one Yang wore when she approached him on the Destiny Islands.

"Oh, sorry about that, didn't mean to scare you," said the man kindly.

"Uh, it was no problem, really?" said Sora awkwardly.

"You here to see Goodwitch?" asked the man; Sora nodded as a response. "Yeah, same here. Just wanted to pop in a say hello for someone we both know. Word of advised: never use the word 'old' when talking to her."

"What am I, suicidal?" said Sora jokingly.

"Well, I better get going," said the man as he walked around Sora. "It was nice to finally meet you, Sora."

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you….," Sora trailed off when he realized the man had called him by name. "Hey, wait, how do you – " but when he turned around, the man had literally vanished into thin air " – Ugh, I hate it when they do that!"

Sora shook his head in his hand and groaned. How was it possible that everyone knew about him, yet he knew very little about anyone else? It was starting to get maddeningly annoying.

Sora put the strange man in the back of his mind and pulled the curtain-door aside before walking in to Goodwitch's house. He spotted the former teacher rummaging through her desk, which was piled high with copious amounts of books and paperwork stacked neatly and in alphabetical order, without noticing that Sora had walked in. When she stepped away, she was carrying a small box barely larger than her hand with the contents clacking inside. Goodwitch turned away from her desk, walking back to her table where her tea and novel were waiting, when she noticed Sora standing in the threshold of her temporary home (Once again, unannounced).

"Did they not teach you how to knock on the islands?" Goodwitch sniffed disapprovingly.

"Kinda hard when you don't have a door," said Sora casually with his hands behind his head. "I nearly ran into that guy that was here a minute ago. Is he a friend of yours?"

"Oscar?" asked Goodwitch curiously. "Oh no, not really. I barely know a thing about the boy. We only know each other through a…mutual acquaintance. He was actually looking for you."

"Me?" Sora blinked. "What for?"

"He wanted to drop this off for you," said Goodwitch With a flick of her crop, Goodwitch used her semblance to levitate the small box in his hands and deposit it in Sora's. The spiky-haired box opened it, brimming with curiosity, and found a small supply of Dust bullets filled with purple powder. "Gravity rounds – not easy to come by these days. Just like it sound, this type of Dust can release concentrated amounts of gravitational energy, though it can be a bit…tricky. You never know how the gravitational field will be effected – it's mostly up to chance."

"And Oscar just wanted you to give this to me?" asked Sora, sounding very suspicious.

"Once again, we apparently have a mutual acquaintance," said Goodwitch, taking a seat in her chair. "Our mysterious accomplice; the same one that sent letters to both General Schnee and myself. It appears they were in a place called Jirga Para Lhao when they collected the dust for those rounds. Apparently that world is abundant in gravitational energy."

 _Yang,_ Sora thought to himself. Once again, the blonde woman had a way of surprisingly him.

"So, besides receiving lavish gifts from mysterious benefactors," said Goodwitch, "what did you need to see me for, Sora?"

"I wanna fix Akari's book," Sora explained, putting away his new Dust rounds and flashed the collection of pages. "I found two of them this time. Think you can put them together?"

"Do you even need to ask that question?" said Goodwitch.

The former teacher snapped her riding crop across the air again and the blank book sitting atop the pedestal on the opposite side of the room was shunted through the air. Professor Goodwitch deftly snatched the book by its stitched binding and allowed the covers to fall open on its own, immediately flipping to the section of the book that was missing several pages. She lined the two new additional pages she collected from Sora with the torn section of the spine, a soft golden glow arose from their connection, and when Professor Goodwitch took her hand off the page, it was seamlessly joined with the rest of the book.

Sora stepped closer and leaned over to take a quick peek at the semi-restored book. Last time Sora had visited the book, the only place available was the small house in the middle of the forest, but now the new pages opened up the scene to the school itself.

"It looks like the book is halfway complete," said Goodwitch, running a finger on the last few scraps of missing pages along the book's spine. "It looks like there are only three more pages still missing. And the rate you are going, you should be able to repair Akari's world within a few weeks' time. Speaking of which, would you like to see them right now?"

"You bet," said Sora eagerly.

With his confirmation, Professor Goodwitch flipped the book around facing him and everything became clouded in a brilliant golden light.

* * *

 **SCHOOL GROUNDS**

Both times Sora had entered the book, he had ended up somewhere in the forest near the Amusement Club's little shack isolated from the rest of the School Grounds where he could only see the main building from a distance. But this time instead of free falling into the world, Sora blinked and found himself in a deserted hallway. The spiky-haired boy looked up and down the hall – he must have materialized inside the school building, Sora surmised and he locked his finger together behind his head.

Sora honestly didn't know what he was expecting when he finally got into the building he could only from far away. It looked like an average school building with nice clean hallways, a dozen doors inward that opened up to the immaculate classrooms, a wall of windows that opened up to the rest of the School Grounds, and a doubled staircase that went up and down (he must be on the school's second floor). In Sora's honest opinion, the place looked like a perfect copy of the high school he was supposed to attend back on Destiny Islands when he turned fifteen…back when there was a Destiny Islands. The only thing that stood out was the bronze statues of a tortoise and a hare on the wooden stair railing. Sora walked halfway up the staircase and caressed the bronze turtle in interest – it was losing some of its luster, which meant it had been here for a very long time.

"I guess this kinda cool," said Sora. He took his hand off the turtle and looked up and down the hallway again with a frown. "But where is everyone. This is a huge school, so you'd think there'd be a lot of people around."

"Ah, I thought I heard you, Sora?"

Sora snapped his head up to notice Akari poking her head over the third level railing, smiling so bright and innocently that it nearly blinded him.

"Akari, hey, how's it going?" Sora waved. "Anything new happen while I was gone."

"Yeah, the school came back!" Akari answered cheerfully. "Well, obviously you know that since we standing inside the school, but we couldn't do it before. Kyoko-chan, Yui-chan, Chinatsu-chan, and I have been trying to get back to the school ever since you left last time, but we couldn't get out of the forest because there was an invisible barrier. Then there was this bright light like the one that brought Kyoko-chan and the others back and we could go to the school again. And on top of that, you came back too. Pretty funny coincidence, huh?"

"Yeah, coincidence," said Sora, smirking knowingly. "So where's the rest of the Amusement Club?"

"Rosette doesn't need them for this chapter, so they went for coffee at the Rabbit House – and yes, that was a reference to another slice of life anime," answered Akari (Sora was still trying to wrap his brain around the Meta concept of this weird world). "I'm supposed to take you to meet the Light Music Club so we can move the plot along for the chapter. They're up here on the third floor."

Sora just shrugged his shoulders, deciding to stop questioning the existence of this unknown author supposedly writing his life story, and marched up the double staircase to the third floor as Akari disappeared over the edge. As he turned on the landing, Sora's ears were rapidly assaulted by a myriad of distinctively different tones that melded together in a semi-chaotic, yet somewhat harmonic musical score. Destiny Island was no stranger to music – they had many classical instruments like piano, trumpets, and violins – but the music Sora could hear as he climbed up to the third level was several times stronger. Every drum beat felt like thunder against his ribcage and every twang of the strings made goosebumps appear on his skin. Akari was peeking in the through a door labeled "Light Music Club" and when Sora leaned in with her, he could just make out the lyrics echoing through the crack.

" _ **~Fuwa Fuwa TAIMU (Fuwa Fuwa TAIMU)~"**_

" _ **~Fuwa Fuwa TAIMU (Fuwa Fuwa TAIMU)~"**_

" _ **~Fuwa Fuwa TAIMU (Fuwa Fuwa TAIMU)~"**_

The final chords hummed and the drums beat out its final notes before the music finally came to an end. A collection of relieved sighs followed shortly after with a couple of them groaning – they all sounded distinctly female.

"That was a lot better than last time," said a straight-laced voice. "Yui, you were still missing chords on the third verse and Ritsu, you were still going too fast."

"C'mon, it's fine, Mio," moaned a tomboyish voice. "Can't we take a break already?"

"No, we have to keep practicing!" said a smaller, sterner voice. "The only way we're going to get better is practice, practice, practice."

"But I had some Mont Blanc cakes and honey tea ready," said a sugery-sweet voice sadly. "It'd be such a shame to let it go to waste…."

"W-well," the smaller voice stuttered uncertainly. "I…guess a break wouldn't hurt."

"That's our Mugi-chan!" cheered a hyper-excited voice.

Akari and Sora waited while the five girls started putting away their instruments until they heard the scraping of chairs against the floor and the clinking of silverware. There was a bunch of quiet chattering amongst the girls that Sora couldn't hear before Akari finally opened the door and announced themselves to the Light Music Club.

"Hello, everybody!" said Akari cheerfully. "I brought Sora just like the script told me to!"

Sora stepped inside, deciding to not bother with questioning some author that may or may not exist, and took a look around the club room. The area was pretty spacious equipped with a bookshelf, a quadrennial table with six chairs, a bench, a black- and whiteboard, a sink with a mirror above it, a cupboard, a chest of drawers, and an organ. The clubs instruments were against the wall closest to the door – Sora spotted two guitars, a bass, an electronic keyboard, and a drum set. That was also an aquarium with a pig-nosed turtle tucked into the corner of the room. And sitting around the table decked with various desserts and tea cups were who Sora assumed was the Light Music Club.

All five of the band members were girls (Sora was starting to think maybe this was an all-girl school and that he might be in serious trouble if that were the case) wearing the same uniform: navy blue blazers, solid white buttoned shirts, colored ribbons, light steel-blue skirts, black stockings and maroon shoes. The girl sitting at the end of the table with her check stuffed full of pastries had an air-headed feel to her with her big brown eyes and medium-length brunette hair accessorized by two yellow hairpins. The one leaning on her chair legs was very tomboyish with her uniform loose and her light-brown bangs pulled back by a yellow hairband. The sitting next to her was easily the tallest of the band and had amazing long, black hair, but the way she fidgeted at seeing Sora made her out to be the meek type. The one serving the tea and sweets was without a doubt fit the rich girl stereotype: flawless skin, long blond hair, and every move she made was with poise and elegance. And the last girl, who was the youngest among them, had burgundy-red eyes and black hair tied up in pigtails and, for some reason, she was wearing….

"Cat ears?" Sora unconsciously said out loud.

"Huh?" said the youngest girl in confusion. She reached up to the top of her head, touched the ears, and squeaked as if she was just realizing they were there. "When did you put this on me?"

"Aw, but they're so cute," whined the brunette when he junior removed the ears.

"You guys, we have a guest," said the band beauty. She stood up from her seat, hands folded in front of her, and bowed politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sora. We're the Light Music Club."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out by the sign outside," said Sora, gesturing over his shoulder. "Cute frog statue outside, by the way."

"Yui, I told you to get rid of that thing!" yelled the tomboy outrageously to the brunette.

"No! Not my froggy! It's too cute!" whined Yui.

"Forgive us for being rude," said the rich girl pleasantly; even her speech was eloquent. "We still have yet to introduce ourselves. I'm Tsumugi Kotobuki – but you can call me Mugi. I play the keyboard." She gestured over to the table as as Yui was clinging to the tomboy, trying to stop her from throwing out her 'cute froggy', while the other two girls looked annoyed. "And over there we have Yui Hirasawa, our leader guitarist and singer".

"No! Leave my froggy alone, you bully!" cried Yui.

"Ritsu Tainaka, our drummer and club president," continued Mugi uninterrupted.

"How're we supposed to get new club members if they see this thing out front!" yelled Ritsu.

"Our cute little kohai on secondary guitar is Azusa Nakano – please call her Azu-Nyan," said Mugi with a delighted smile.

"Don't call me that!" Azu-Nyan yelped embarrassingly. "Oh no, now even the author is calling me that!"

"And we have the cute and shy Mio Akiyama on bass," Mugi added. "Mio is super popular and even has her own fan club because one time she flashed her – "

"Don't tell him that!" Mio screamed so loud that the windows cracked; her face red and steaming.

"And together, we make Ho-Kago Tea Time," Mugi concluded.

"They songs really are the best," said Akari delightfully. "They used to play at all the opening ceremonies to welcome new students and perform at every school festival. They were actually hosting a concert when everything went white and everyone suddenly disappeared.

"Thanks for that, by the way," said Mio gratefully. "It was all very disconcerting. When our page was ripped out, it was like we were everywhere and nowhere at the same time. We could see and hear everything that was going on in the world around us, but it was like we were there at the same time, like we were outside the realm of – "

"Ah, you're making it too complicated!" Ritsu complained. "Just say we were ghosts and get on with it!"

"I don't know if ghost is the appropriate term for what happened," Azu-Nyan commented.

"Ooh, watch out, Azu-Nyan," Yui had somehow gotten her hands on a white sheet, threw it over herself, and crept towards the catgirl in a humorously haunting voice. "I'm big scary ghost! I'm gonna take your cake and eat it all up!"

"I'm pretty sure ghosts can't eat cake," said Azu-Nyan bluntly.

"What?!" yelped Yui in shock.

"Now that's enough of that; we have a guest here, remember?" said Mugi sweetly, pulling out a chair for Sora. "Here, why don't you have a seat while I get you some honey tea and a slice of raspberry cheesecake leftover from yesterday's practice – and by yesterday, I mean before we were ripped out of the book."

"Thanks," said Sora eagerly as he took the seat, happy to have a nice change of pace from all the Grimm slaying for once. As Mugi went to tea cabinet to pick out a new tea cup (a rose patterned one, he noticed), "You know, compared to the Amusement Club, you guys are actually pretty normal."

"Yeah, well, Yuru Yuri was always more of a gag slice of life anime," said Ritsu, leaning back on her chair legs again. "K-on's humor was always more realistic with a bunch of _boke_ and _tsukkomi,_ cheesy comedic set-ups, and the occasional physical violence." Without warning, Mio whacked her over the head, resulting in a massive swelling. "OW! Like that…."

"So you guys had your own show like the Amusement Club," said Sora as Mugi set the rosy tea cup and started pouring the tea. "Was it any good?"

"Oh yes, we were quiet popular back in the 2010s, which wasn't that long ago now that you think about it," answered Mugi politely. "K-On was all the rage back in the day and I think they still have an exhibit of us at the Toyosato Elementary School. We were such a big hit that some people think it's the reason why KyoAni wanted to turn _Hibiki! Euphonium_ into an anime."

"Those stuck-up brats in the concert band owes us for that, especially that snotty little trumpet girl – " Ritsu seethed in annoyance.

"Ritsu-senpai, be nice," said Azu-Nyan warningly.

"I'm not gonna pretend I even understand half the stuff you said," said Sora humorously as Mugi presented him with a tiny little cake to eat.

"Hey, Sora-kun, you gonna eat that?" asked Yui as her hand was steadily creeping towards his cake.

"Hey, back off, this is mine!" said Sora possessively, using his arm to block her off.

"Yui, you have your own," said Mio in a maternal tone. "If you don't be nice, Ritsu will steal your strawberry."

"Anything but that!" Yui gasped in horror.

The girls of the Light Music Club all laughter together as Yui threw her arms protectively around her little cake with teary eyes – the whole scene made even Sora chuckle amusingly. As the spiky-haired scythe wielder looked around the table, he remembered why he liked coming back to the School Grounds despite its obvious weirdness and its tendency to break the fourth wall (Sora unconscious looked around trying to look for the wall on occasion). It was nice to get away from all the trials and tribulations that waited in the outside world and just enjoy these short moments of peace with a bunch of good friends. In here, he didn't have to worry about Grimm, or Cabals, or Maidens, or Traitors, or the Key-whatever Yang talked about. Inside this book, he could just sit back and enjoy tea provided by Mugi while watching Ritsu and Mio talking animatedly across the table or Yui trying to steal a kiss from Azu-Nyan, who would promptly slap the older girl (though Azu-Nyan did shyly look away afterwards).

Sighing contently, Sora picked up his rosy tea cup, taking in the scent of the sweet-smelling liquid before tilting the cup to his lips –

 _ **VROOM!**_

Sora jumped in his seat, banging his knees against the table and spilling the tea down his front before he even had a chance to taste. The members of the Light Music Club reacted in similar fashions. Ritsu finally tipped over the edge of her chair legs and hit the hardwood floor with the back of her head, creating a second swelling to add to the first. Mio squeaked with fright and ducked underneath the table like she was expecting an earthquake (which wasn't too far off). Mugi threw up her tea set when the noise ripped through the calm atmosphere, but she quickly stretched out her limbs to catch the very expensive wares without spilling a drop of tea. Azu-Nyan shrieked like a cat and jumped into Yui's arms, who jumped into Sora's arms…except Sora didn't catch them and they both plopped on the ground. Sora stood up from his seat, looking exasperatedly at the tea stains setting in, and groaned:

"What was that?"

"Oh no, please don't tell me that second page you brought wasn't the Bike Club," moaned Ritsu as she pulled herself up the table by her elbows. "Ugh, I hate those guys! Those dang motorcycles of theirs always scare the pee out of everybody, plus they're always driving around campus while we're trying to practice. We can't even hear ourselves play over the sound of their engines."

"It is a little insensitive that they have to drive around while all the others clubs are in session," Azu-Nyan agreed. "Last week, the concert band complained that they were interrupting their practices and the sports teams got upset when they drove through their practice fields and left skid marks all over the grass."

"And they're really loud," Yui whined as she covered her ears and snapped her eyes shut. "They make my head hurt."

"Yui-senpai has very sensitive ears,"Azu-Nyan told Sora.

"Well, if they're such a problem, then why doesn't the school do something about it?" asked Sora while Mugi handed him a tea towel.

"Hijiri Minowa," answered Ritsu simply with a dry look. "She's the second richest girl in the whole school next to Mugi, but unlike our sweet little Mugi, she's not afraid to flaunt her money around. All she has to do is flash a few million yen and she can do whatever she wants." She turned her head at Mugi with an annoyed stare. "This wouldn't be a problem if you just opened your wallet and threw around some of that Kotobuki authority."

"I told you, I don't want to depend on my family's fortune to solve my problems," said Mugi adamantly; it sounded like this was a recurring argument.

"Mugi's right, we can't just use her family's money to get our way," said Mio sternly. "If we do, then we'd be stooping to the same level as the Bike Club. But it is very rude that they are blasting motorcycles around the campus without considering the other clubs. I say we go down there and talk to them – only talk to them; no fighting Ritsu," She added pointedly at the tomboyish drummer, who slumped miserably. "I'm sure if we discuss this peacefully, we can – "

 _ **VROOM! VROOM! VROOM!**_

This time, the roaring engines sounded much closer; the windows of the Light Music club room rattled as if threatening to break at any moment. Everyone jumped in surprise again, but Mio got the worst of it when Mugi accidentally tipped the tea pot in Mio's face, drenching her in the sweet-smelling beverage. Sora and the Light Music Club went perfectly still. Mio's blazer was positively damp and dripping on the floor, her hair was draped over her face like the girl from the Ring, and the worst part was that she didn't say anything after that. After a long few seconds of silence, Mio parted her hair and revealed the look of pure loathing on her face as she tucked the wet strands behind her ears. She silently picked up a tea towel, dabbed her face and clothes with it, and then threw it angrily on the table.

"Let's go kick their butts," said Mio neutrally.

The Light Music Club let out a hearty battle cry and stampeded out the door, leaving Sora to linger in the empty club room.

"Oh boy," said Sora. "This is not gonna end well."

* * *

Sora followed the Light Music Club down to ground level and out to the back of the School Ground, keeping a short distance behind the fuming girls with his hands behind his head. The back lot of the school was surprise spacious, though nearly packed by rows of what Sora took to be as storage sheds, but were actually single-roomed buildings used for multiple purposes, including club rooms (apparently the school couldn't fully compensate for the eighty-seven clubs they already have). As the Light Music Club marched purposely down the second row of club buildings, Sora looked around and noted some of the various clubs the School Ground supported: the Diving Club, the Game Creation Club, the Card Club, and something called the Afterschool Paradise Club. Sora wondered if he would ever see any members of these clubs if he kept bringing back more pages.

The Light Music Club stopped at the last building in the row, which was located next to a bike rack for obvious reasons, with the small sign saying "Bike Club" on the door. Without even waiting to discuss a plan, Ritsu raised her fist and started pounding on the door.

"Hey, Bike Club, get out here!" demanded Ritsu. "We've got some words for you!"

"Ritsu-senpai, don't do anything stupid like you usually do," warning Azu-Nyan. "We're just gonna ask them to keep the noise down so we can get back to practice."

"All right, but if they - hey, what'd mean 'like I usually do'?" snapped Ritsu.

"You think they're in right now?" asked Mio when the Bike Club didn't answer the door. "You don't think they're out, do you?"

"Where would they go?" asked Ritsu, frowning. "We're literally inside a magic book – there aren't a lot of places for to visit."

"So you think they went inside?" asked Mugi curiously.

"I know!" shouted Yui cheerfully. "Let's ask those people coming at us!"

Sora and the Light Music Club turned their heads in perfect synchronization towards the direction that their air-headed guitarist was pointing. They hadn't realized it at first (maybe because the author was too lazy to write it in earlier), but screams of motor engines was like roaring thunder down as four massive motorcycles and a scooter zoomed straight towards them. As the five helmeted riders were getting closer, they only just now seemed to notice Sora and the girls standing in the way and immediately clutched the breaks (their tires marked the ground with earsplitting screeches).

While the Light Music Club squeaked with fright and held each other in a panicked group hug, Sora jumped in front, whipped out Colorful Indigo from his belt, and extended it in front. Colorful Indigo's rubbery blade made contact with the leading motorcycle's tire and immediately forced it to stop, even pushing it back a couple feet without any visible recoil. Sora did the same thing with the other three motorcycles and the scooter before everyone had finally stopped. Sora sighed in relief and replaced his scythe on his belt as the people whom Sora assumed was the Bike Club removed their helmets.

The girl on the pink motorcycle leading the pack had short brunette hair and wide, round eye very similar to Yui with some type of angel wing accessories in her hair. Directly to her right was a girl that had a slightly roughened look to her with an uncontrollable mess of frizzy black hair barely kept down by a white bandanna. On the opposite side of the frizzy-haired girl was a stunningly beautiful blonde-haired girl that would definitely give Mio competition, especially in the bust department (that was Ritsu's observation, which she earn d another swelling for). On the pink biker's left was a fancy-looking purple-haired girl with glasses and a bow on her head (and was the only one wearing training wheel on her motorcycle, Sora could help noticing). And the only girl using a scooter looked like an exact copy of Azu-Nyan save for the brunette hair and the deadpanned expression.

Wait a minute, Sora thought to himself. An air-head, a tomboy, a pretty girl, a rich lady, and pigtails….Sora looked between the Light Music Club and the Bike Club. He wasn't the only one noticing this, right?

"Oh my gosh, are you all right?" asked the brunette worriedly as she and the others hopped off their bikes.

"Yeah, we're okay," said Sora lightly.

"We're so sorry about that," the fuzzy-haired girl apologized. "We completely forgot that we were supposed to be in the club room for our big reveal scene, but we completely lost track of time driving around the school since we've been gone for so long."

"You wouldn't have even noticed if I hadn't pointed in out," said the Azu-Nyan clone in a deadpanned tone.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" called Ritsu with a wave of her hand. "The author is running out of witty banter to write for everyone, so can we just do the introductions and then get to the plot."

"Ooh, ooh, me first!" the brunette biker bounced excitedly with her hand in the air. "I'm Hane Sakura! I'm sixteen years old, my favorite foods are udon and chicken katsu, I have a super responsible littlke sister named Yume that takes care of all the housework and helps me with my homework!"

"Who does that remind us of?" said Azu-Nyan sarcastically as they Light Music Club simultaneously turned their heads to Yui; the guitarist, for her part, looked confused.

"Onsa Amano over here," said the frizzy-haired girl with a lazy wave. "I'm kinda, like, the president of the Bike Club. Y family owns a motorcycle shop, o it kinda makes sense that I'd be in charge. You know, kid," she said as she leaned in closer to Sora, "I bet I could get you a sweet deal on your own set-a-wheels. I'm thinking maybe something like a Yamaha – "

"You mean like Ritsu's drum set," said Sora curiously, gesturing to the Light Music Club president, who laughed as Onsa's horrified expression.

"Beat it, frizzy!" the blonde biker hip checked Onsa out of the way and clutched Sora's hands with starry eyes. "Hi, my name's Rin Suzunoki and you should totally go with the Suzuki brand! Suzuki totally has the best engines and unique styles that totally match one-of-a-kind individuals like yourself. Suzuki is the best brand and you should totally get one!"

"Uh…okay," said Sora awkwardly. "But I thought we were talking about motorcycles, not cars."

Rin stared at him in horror; Onsa laughed openly at the blonde's dispersed expression.

"Why, hello, Tsumugi Kotobuki," the purple-haired girl with the training wheeled motorcycle completely ignored Sora and went straight for Mugi. "It has been such a long time since we've last indulged in free conversation, what with your parents and my parents always busy being rich. Tell me, are you still trying to act like a normal girl? It seems like such a waste with all that money."

"I see you haven't change at all yourself, Hijiri Minowa," said Mugi in an unnaturally rigid, yet polite tone. "Yes, I feel that life can be much happier if one does not indulge themselves in the pursuit of material possessions and enjoy the simpler things like friends and honest work. And what about you? Are you still trying to act like a delinquent? It seems so improper for a lady of your standards."

"Well, we can't all be perfect little sweethearts like you, Kotobuki," said Hijiri.

"And not everyone has to flash their money around for show, Minowa," said Mugi.

Though both of them were talking in polite tones, there was an obvious sense of tension between the two rich girls that even their respective clubs seemed to notice. Yui and Ritsu pulled Mugi by her underarms and dragged her away while Onsa grabbed Hijiri by the back of her uniform and carried her in the opposite direction. Mugi and Hijiri was still smiling as they were pulled away, but Sora could see the sparks flying between their gazes – quite literally, in fact; lightning was shooting out their eyes and clashing halfway between them. The Azu-Nyan clone with the scooter sighed exasperatedly and approached Sora, bowing her head apologetically.

"I am so sorry for my senpai's rudeness," said the Azu-Nyan clone. "Kotobuki-senpai and Minowa-senpai don't exactly get along as well as one would expect. We think it might have something to do with their families being rich or they don't approve of what the other is doing – we honestly don't know." She held out her hand to Sora. "Oh, by the way, my name is Chisame Nakano, first year student and member of the Bike Club, though I do have a lot of experience with motorcycles beforehand."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Chisame," said Sora, shaking her offered hand. "So your name is Nakano, huh? Are you related to Azu-Nyan by any chance?"

"Please stop calling me that," whined Azu-Nyan. "That goes double for you, Rosette!"

But it's so cute, Azu-Nyan!

"Well, she's right, it is kinda cute," Chisame chuckled lightly while Azu-Nyan pouted. "And going back to your question, Azusa is actually my twin sister."

"Really?" Hane gasped in awe.

"We didn't know that," said Mio.

"Well, it was a long time ago," explained Azu-Nyan. "Our parents got divorced when we were four years old. Both of our parents got remarried a couple years after that. Dad ended up marrying a professional jazz player he met when playing at the local jazz club – "

" – and mom got married to professional motorcycle racer," Chisame added. "I guess you can say our parents kinda influenced us into becoming what we are now."

"Wow, that sounds like something out of a cheesy telenovela," commented Ritsu; Mio whacked her over the head for a third swelling. "OW! C'mon! Hasn't my head been abused enough for one day?"

"So what does the world famous Ho-Kago Tea Time want with a small time Bike Club?" asked Rin curiously. "Not that we don't appreciate you coming here – it's always awesome when big time anime characters like you guys decide to visit, but it why did you decide to drop by?"

"Didn't you read the script Rosette gave us?" asked Mio.

"We would have, but Sakura-senpai decided to use it for origami," said Chisame blandly.

"It's a ninja on a motorcycle!" exclaimed Hane excitedly as she presented the very detailed paper sculpture. Yui, Ritsu, Mugi, Onsa, and Hijiri oohed and awed.

"While that is careless and…somewhat impressive," said Mio, blinking at the origami statue. "We actually came here to file a complaint."

"What she means is - ," interjected Ritsu, shoving Mio out of the way with her clenched fist raised in Onsa's face. "We're sick and tired of you motorcycle jerks always revving around the School Grounds, making tons of noise and disturbing us when we're in the middle of practice – even though we don't practice that much to begin with." She added in a smaller voice. "But the point is, your bikes are way too loud and are bothering the other clubs! So either you take your bikes somewhere else or we're gonna throw down!"

"Okay," said Hane simply with a smile on her face.

The Light Music Club froze in place, all five of them with thin lips and cartoonishly wide eyes as if they had just been slapped in the face. To put it simply, they were stunned by how compliant the Bike Club was being to their somewhat unreasonable demand. Ritsu turned her head to Mio, who turned her head to Azu-Nyan, who turned her head to Mugi, who turned her head to Yui, who looked back at Ritsu – none of them said a word and looked back at the Bike Club perfectly synchronized. The Bike Club, for their part, were leaning on their motorcycles without showing any signs of putting up an argument. Ritsu opened her mouth…then closed it…then opened it again…then closed it again…and opened it a third time; her own words seemed to be tripping over themselves just trying to say anything intelligible.

"So…that's it?" asked Ritsu awkwardly. "You're just gonna…just gonna accept it, then?"

"Well, sure," said Hane in an easygoing fashion. "We kinda figured that we might have been causing trouble for everyone, but nobody ever said anything, so we never tried to do anything about it. We're sorry if we disturbed you."

"Yeah, it's totally our bad," said Onsa.

"We'll try to find a new spot to ride our bikes," Rin promised.

"In fact, this would be a perfect chance to make the perfect racing track in the forest!" said Hijiri excitedly as she whipped out her cellphone and tapped away. "We could have a rough dirt path with extra rocky texture that will make you bleed if you fall over! Ooh, maybe we can throw in some hairpin turns that will knock you out if you don't turn at the right moment, and maybe ice and water hazards that will make you slip and fall on your head! Think of all the scars we could get – then we'd be real delinquents! Ooh, and we definitely need those pads that make you go faster by cooling down your engine when you go over it!"

"Last time we did that, you put Raimu-senpai in the hospital," said Rin pointedly.

"That's Hijiri for you," said Mugi, still smiling but with a visible throbbing vein on her skull. "Always wasting money on pointless things."

"Soo…then we're good," asked Azu-Nyan, scratching her head. "Nyan! Who keeps putting these ears back!"

"Yeah, we're totally good," said Chisame, nodding in confirmation.

"Oookay then…," said Ritsu, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "I…guess that settles it then….Good talk, everybody."

Wow, the awkwardness is so cringe-worthy that even the author had to step away from the computer for ten minutes…and when she finally came back, the Light Music Club started walking back to the main building while the Bike Club parked their vehicles on the bike rack and disappeared inside their club room. This left Sora and Akari – hey, I almost forgot about her – standing in the middle of the back lot by themselves, having nothing to say about what they just witnessed, even as a random tumbleweed rolled by.

"Well, that was anti-climactic," commented Sora.

"It does seem a little…lacking compared to the first two parts," Akari agreed. "I guess since K-On and Bakuon have semi-realistic settings and since they are basically the same people – "

"I thought there was something similar between them, but just couldn't put my finger on it!" Sora shouted suddenly with a hint of relief in his voice. "The Bike Club is basically the Light Music Club on motorcycles!"

"It's called the Expy troupe," stated Akari. "But yeah, this chapter seems kinda pointless in comparison – I think even Rosette is regretting even writing this chapter in the first place, but she's already too far along to just delete the whole thing and start over, so she might as well finish it. At least that's what it's saying on the transcript she writing right now through my words. But when you come back with the next two pages, there will definitely be a lot more gags involved, so don't you worry, Sora!" she added, patting him on the back.

"The fact that this so-called 'author' is speaking through you already makes me worried," groaned Sora. "Well, I guess I should be heading back to meet up with my friends again." He turned around and started to walk away towards the book entrance until he suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, you think Onsa's offer is still available?"

* * *

Professor Goodwitch hummed to herself as she flipped the next page of the newest novel she had bought from Ren's shop, taking a sip of her tea, allowed the soothing sounds of the gramophone to lull her into a peaceful state of mind. Goodwitch lived for moments like these – moments when she didn't have to worry about whipping students in shape through classes or disciplining them when they break the rules, not having to worry about saving the world or protecting some mystical power woman or some ancient relic she never even saw, but somehow trusted with a drunk like Qrow. Now don't get her wrong, she was terribly sorry that Beacon Academy – and Remnant – was gone, but her days of peace were very rare and few, so she always took the opportunity to relax when it presented itself.

As Glynda took another sip of her tea, she noticed the flash of bright light illuminating from the book stand behind her and had presumed that Sora had come back. What she wasn't expecting was the thunderous roar of an engine to scream directly behind her chair, causing the good witch to fly out of her seat in a fright and nearly launched herself in the fireplace.

Glynda sputtered incoherently as she fumbled around for her riding crop, flipped around on her back, and pointed it in the direction of the screeching. Her eyes were momentarily wide with panic before they narrowed dangerously on the metal monstrosity he was straddling. Apparently he had taken up Onsa's offer of setting him up with his own motorcycle and had decided to bring it back to Traverse Town with him. The screaming metal deathtrap was just as tall as Sora – his gangling legs couldn't even touch the ground – was painted cherry-red, and plastered from top to bottom in dozens of decals (provided by the Bike Club and the Light Music Club, of course).

"Hey, Goodwitch, check it out!" Sora shouted excitedly as he revved the engines. "Pretty sweet, huh?"

Professor Goodwitch stayed silently as she slowly right herself up, brushed the dirt and dust off her clothes, and pointed her riding crop at the monster machine. Immediately, the former teacher used her semblance to shove Sora off the bike and hefted the machine in the air, hanging it from the ceiling.

"Confiscated," said Glynda simply .

"Aww!" Sora Whined.

* * *

 **As before, this was only meant to be a short, but entertaining piece to take a break from all the seriousness of the story. But don't worry; we'll be heading back to the seriousness again at Arkham Asylum.**


	32. A Dark Knight, Part 1

**Chapter Thirty-One: A Dark Knight, Part 1**

"I can't believe Goodwitch jacked my bike," grumbled Sora, crossing his arms and pouting.

"I can't believe you're still talking about that six hours later," retorted Sun.

"But I just6 got the thing – it was a gift," whined Sora.

"Ugh, please tell me we're almost there," Sun groaned as he leaned forward to Penny in the pilot's seat.

"Thankfully, yes," answered Penny as the control console started beeping.

The Atlesian Android tapped a series of buttons and the image of their next destination appeared on the monitor. It was a large island in the middle of the rough sea with only a length of bridge connecting it to the mainland permanently trapped into a state of cloudless night under the eerie rays of the full moon. The dreary-looking isle was blooming with untamed wildness and cavernous mountains that had been abruptly cut out and replaced with many bleak, granite buildings (some of which were either crumbling or left unfinished). The Victorian-styled building and its neighboring greenhouse stood apart from the rest of the facilities as being older and more dilapidated, looking like many people had tried their best to keep it from falling into ruin, but failed miserably.

"Welcome to Arkham Asylum, everybody," said Penny, trying to sound upbeat despite the grim-looking world that awaited them.

"Another prison?" groaned Sun as he fell back in his seat. "Didn't we learn our lesson from the last one?"

"You guys have been to prison?" asked Velvet surprisingly.

"You weren't around at the time," Sora informed her. "Deadman Wonderland was the first world we ever traveled to as a group – and yes, it's just as morbid as it sounds. Luckily, we managed to get that horrible place shut down. I hope Ganta and Shiro as still okay after everything."

"I'm hoping we don't have a repeat of what happened last time," said Sun.

"Well, don't get your hopes us just yet, Sun," said Penny seriously. She tapped a few more buttons on the keyboard and proud up an image of a white-skinned clown in a dapper purple three-piece suit with outrageously green hair and bright red lips stretched into a wicked smile. "This is the Joker, the most dangerous homicidal maniac in this world's history and – according to Commander Yagami's intel – one of Zeref's allies in the Cabal."

"Besides that unsettling smile, what's so dangerous about a clown?" asked Velvet.

"Oh, if you even knew half the stuff this maniac has done, I can guarantee you wouldn't sleep for a week," said Penny confidently. "In the past ten years that he has been active, the Joker has become – single-handed, I might add – responsible for the deaths of over ten thousand lives regardless of age, gender, race, or religion. There seems to be no method to his madness; he kills indiscriminately, and that's what makes him so dangerous. Commander Yamagi's profile ranks him as a Class-S threat – that's just one rank below Zeref and several ranks about Torchwick and the others. We may very well be walking into a lion's den.

"And that's not the only reason we're here, is it?" asked Sun. "Didn't Commander Yagami say something about Weiss putting him in jail ten years ago."

"Uh…yeah, here it is," said Penny, scrolling through the report. "According to the Joker's personal testimony, he had encounter Team RWBY on various instances during Christmas ten years ago, but he was only arrested due to the combined efforts of Weiss Schnee and the local hero, Batman."

"So that'd be a good reason to find the Joker," said Velvet. "He might be able to tell us what happened to Team RWBY."

"With a guy that mentally unstable, it's doubtful," said Sun.

"Well, there's no point just standing around here talking about it," said Sun, leaning against the back of Penny's seat. "Take us down there, Penny."

The Atlesian android nodded in confirmation as she tilted the nose of the Gummi Ship down to the dark and dreary island.

* * *

 **ARKHAM ASYLUM**

* * *

Penny had to be a little extra creative in hiding the Gummi Ship this time ("I'm not going to leave it for some lunatic to break the window and drive it into the lighthouse," she told them). They flew over the west side of the island and ducked drifted underneath the water near the docks where they conveniently found an underground cave system complete with a natural staircase that led above ground. They came out in a mostly barren area that was overflowing with weeds on the grounds, almost consuming the cracked asphalt roads, and ivy practically choking the surrounding buildings like no one had been here for a long time. There was a check-in station in the middle of the space with a guard tower overlooking it, both of them abandoned and left destitute. The lights were on in the three surrounding buildings (the medical facility, the penitentiary, and the visitor center), which meant someone had to be running the place.

"This place is really creepy," said Velvet, her ears lying flat on her head. "I think I'd rather take my chances with Deadman Wonderland."

"C'mon, we've taken on way scarier things than this place," said Sun confidently. Sora, Penny, and Velvet turned to him and looked down at his shaky knees. "Buy just in case, why don't you take the lead, Sora?"

'You're definitely not a lion Faunus, that's for sure," said Sora, rolling his eyes.

Sora was putting on a brave face (whether he wanted to assure his team or look cool in front of Velvet was debatable), but the spiky-haired boy did feel a little unnerved about the place. Just looking around brought back haunting memories of Yamatai and Silent Hill – two of the worst world's he had visited that still sent shivers down his spine. Their footsteps echoed loudly on the road leading across the way towards the medical facility, only adding to the sense of foreboding that was lurking in the back of everyone's minds. But it also brought to their attention something that seemed…very out of place.

"Where is everyone?" Penny voiced what everyone was thinking. "This being an asylum, you would think that there would be guardsmen and orderlies who would have seen and confronted us by now."

"Maybe they're all on a coffee break," suggested Sun.

"Let's be serious here, Sun," Velvet chastised him; Sun pouted. "No one would leave a prison for the criminally insane alone without a good reason. So where is everyone?"

Sora was also starting to wonder the same thing. It seemed rather impractical to leave facility packed with mentally unstable and potentially dangerous people unguarded. But as they started climbing the slope of the hill, Sora's eyes fell on the guard tower overlooking the area and suddenly realized that it might not have been as abandoned as he had believed. Thanks to Arkham Asylum's dark background, it had almost seemed invisible and the team would have never noticed if not for the bright-white mask that adorned its face.

The Grimm hung from the crossed metal ceiling of the guard tower with its black leathery wings folded over its black-furred body, its white, blade-like nails digging into the steel. Rows of bone-white protrusions traveled down its spine with similar growths traveling the length of its wings that ended in pointed talons and a ribcage over its chest. A pair of pointed ears topped the Grimm's head above its pointed red and white mask with its yellow eyes like a pair of headlight in the darkness and two large fangs over the ends of its lips. Around the neck of the Grimm was what looked to be a silver collar with a stylized "A" stamped into the metal (Sora didn't think the Grimm were fashionable.

Sora pointed to the Grimm and everyone got out their weapons. It didn't seem that the Grimm had noticed them, so they headed up the slope as quietly as possible (the Grimm's ears twitched every so often). But when they reached the top of the slope hill, they suddenly realized there were two more bat-like Grimm standing guard on either side of the visitor's center entrance. Team Sora backed away and looked to their left, also spying four more bat-like Grimm standing in front of the Penitentiary entrance. With one in the guard tower, two at the visitor's center, and four at the penitentiary, Sora started to sense a pattern and turned his head toward the medical facility where – yes, indeed – two more bat-like Grimm were standing guard at the entrance. It seemed like the entire island was infested with these strange Grimm, but there was something off about them. The Grimm could clearly see them, so –

"Why aren't they attacking?" asked Sun, lowering his gunchaku in confusion.

Penny cautiously approached one of the Grimm standing guard at the visitor's center until they were practically nose-to-nose; the Grimm still did not attack. She hummed thoughtfully for a moment and even waved her hand across the Grimm's face; once again, the Grimm did not move.

"Inconceivable," said Penny astonishingly. "Somehow, the people of this world have managed to…tame the Grimm. But…but that's impossible. It's illogical. They are just mindless, ravenous beasts that only exist to create discord and chaos!"

"Looks like we agree on that opinion."

Team Sora staggered backwards, snapping their heads towards the roof, and completely ignoring the maybe potential threat of the Grimm in front of them. Though he blended well in the background of the dreary night sky, they could barely make out the hulking figure of a man crouched on the edge of the visitor's center. The unknown watched stared at them for a moment, leapt forward, and threw out his arms as something dark stretched behind him in the form of wings, almost like a bat. The man glided in a circle around Team Sora then dropped down in front of them in a superhero type crouch before standing up straight.

Not only was the costumed stranger incredibly muscular (Sun suddenly felt subconscious about his six pack) but he was also incredible tall; almost twice the size as Sora and just as tall as Velvet with her ears standing up. The man had outfitted himself in a gray, rubber-like material with noticeable padding around the chest underneath the wide, black bat symbol in a similar way that his cowl was weaved with specialized padding for protection and had two extended ears to give him a bat-like appearance. His knee-high combat boots and plated gloves were made from a heavy plastic material that could definitely do damage if he decided to punch someone's teeth out (which he looked like he did often). The "wings" Sora's team saw earlier turned out to be a long black cape that connected to his cowl and golden, multi-pouch belt on his waist glimmered dimly in the florescent lights.

The giant bat-man walked by Sora and scowled in a way that made Sora feel chills run down his spine even though the gaze wasn't on him; the Grimm did not flinch.

"I never like the idea of Warden Sharp replacing the asylum's security with Grimm," said the bat-man. "There is always a present danger when you have monsters guarding the monsters."

"That's an interesting way of putting it," said Velvet as the costumed fighter turned on them. "Given the whole…bat ensemble, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say…you're Batman, right?"

"It is rather obvious," said Batman sarcastically. "And you're Sora, Sun Wukong, Penny Polendina, and Velvet Scarlatina. I've been expecting you for a while, though I thought you would have showed up a couple days earlier."

"Wow, you figured all that out in just one look," said Sun impressively. "You really are the world's greatest detective."

"Actually, I can't take all the credit," said Batman honestly. "I received an anonymous tip from an old friend of mine – one that I haven't seen in years – and she asked me to help you through Arkham Asylum. She told me that you were going to be going after the Joker, but you are sorely out of your depth if you think you can take on that psychopath on your own."

"Well, we're not shy about asking help," said Penny.

"It's true," said Sun, locking his hands behind his head. "Yeah, we almost always have help in every world we visit. There was Ganta and Shiro at Deadman Wonderland, Lara on Yamatai, Riot Force Six in Mid-Childa, and Squid Girl at Inkopolis. It's kinda like those RPG video games like the Last Dream series where you get a new companion everywhere you go."

"You're honestly comparing our lives to a video game," said Penny, rolling her eyes. "That's ridiculous. Who'd want to play a video game based on us?"

Sora unconsciously glanced at the readers; his time in the School Grounds was starting to get to him.

"If you're serious about going after the Joker, then I can't stop you," said Batman, cutting in to the group's conversation. "But you should know that the Joker has suddenly gone missing since I brought him to Arkham weeks ago, which means he could be anywhere in the asylum, assuming he's still in Arkham at all. We can discuss our next move in the Batcave and away from these…things," he added, shooting a sideways leer at the Grimm.

"Yeah, good point," Sora nodded in agreement, eyeing the Grimm wearily. "The soon I'm away from these Shriekers, the better."

"Shriekers," said Batman repeated thoughtfully. "Good name, kid."

Shooting one last mistrusting, Batman turned on his heel with a flick of his cape. Sora and the others pause for a moment, looking at each other in silent communication until Sora ultimately shrugged his shoulders and followed the Dark Knight; they could totally trust a dark, mysterious, and brooding vigilante that would likely punch their teeth out for even looking at him funny…right?

The Dark Knight led them through a series of interlocking electronic doors and a brief narrow hall before coming out in Arkham North (according to the overhead sign). It was much smaller than the section of the island they had just come from, but was more heavily fortified with double guard towers and guard stations, a large wrought iron guarding the bridge to the mainland, and dozens of security camera positioned to monitor every inch of the area. Behind them was the entrance to a building that looked like it had been constructed inside the mountain in the heart of Arkham Asylum and designed to resemble something like a church (possibly as a way of imply that the place would lead to salvation for those treated). Although Sora never heard of a church with a massive, reinforced door, above which was a metal sign saying "Intensive Treatment".

And as to be expected, the Shriekers were also scattered around the area on guard duty; two of them were standing on either side of the Intensive Treatment entrance, one to each guard tower, two guarding the gate, and at least three or four roaming the grounds. Sora felt anxious about having the Grimm roaming around the island freely, even though none of them really attacked while they wandered close enough. Batman ignored them entirely and walked them around the side of the Intensive Treatment Center toward a small, hidden space with only a rusty ladder leading to a small cave entrance above.

"How did the warden manage to tame insatiable monsters like the Grimm," Penny once again voiced everyone's thoughts. "I know years ago that the Atlesian military and the Schnee Dust Company attempted to experiment with the Grimm to study them, but we never considered the possibility that they could be controlled."

"It's not really controlling the Grimm as much as it is directing them," said Batman as he started climbing the ladder. "A psychiatrist named Hugo Strange has been experimenting with the Grimm for years ever since they first arrived in Gotham over ten years ago, attempt to understand how they operate. Though most of his experiments ended in failures, Hugo Strange made notable progress three years ago when he found out that certain types of Grimm like the Shriekers respond to specific sonic frequencies. Hugo strange outfitted one of the Shriekers with a collar that emits continuous sonic noise during his demonstration at city hall and showed everyone how easily he could manipulate the Grimm. Hugo Strange suggested that with the Shriekers up his control that they could essentially replace the police force and reduce the crime rate exponentially."

"But he didn't, did he?" asked Velvet worriedly as Team Sora followed him up.

"No," answered Batman, pulling the team up one-by-one. "A lot of influential people were very vocal about their opposition, especially Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne. When his plan to replace the police failed, Hugo Strange turned around and offered the Grimm to the warden, Quincy Sharp. He didn't hesitate to accept. Must have thought it would be easier to control and cheaper than having to pay staff."

"So what'd Strange get out of all of this?" asked Sun as the team followed Batman deeper into the cave. "A guy doesn't offer an entire platoon of remote controlled Grimm and not get anything out of it."

"All Strange asked for was unrestricted access to all the patients in Arkham, including those in extreme isolation," said Batman, scowling at the thought. "I don't know what Hugo Strange wants from them, but I understand well enough that it's not to help them. I've been keeping track and notice that a few of his patients seem to occasionally go missing – writes in his report that they mentally unwell and has them transferred to isolation. I don't like it."

"I get the feeling that you don't like anything," said Sora jokingly.

Batman neither admits nor denies it, which unnerves Sora.

Batman opens a vaulted door at the end of the tunnel and steps inside with Team Sora nipping at his cape. They come to a much more spacious cavern, but it definitely wasn't what they were hoping for. Besides the hundreds of cobwebs and the rising ivy the only thing in the cave was a small stack of bricks lined up in a square and a pyramid…made of human skulls. Sora and the others froze on the spot when they eyed the skulls and nervously glanced at Batman. The Dark Knight did not acknowledge their anxious looks and calmly walked over to an opening on the other end of the cave. The team cautiously followed behind, giving the pyramid of skulls of wide berth, and joined Batman at the cave exit, which opened up to a steep cliff overlooking a treacherous drop into the sea over a cluster of pointy rocks.

"Uh…don't know how to say this, Batman, but you're Batcave's…not that good." Said Sun, scratching the back of his head. Batman ignored him and took a step forward; his foot hovering over the cliff edge. Sun panicked. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy there, pal! I didn't think you'd be so sensitive – "

And Batman stepped off the cliff; the team yelped and scrambled to the edge.

They watched the Dark Knight freefall towards the rocks at dangerous speeds until he threw out his cape, which suddenly turned stiff and became the wings that Sora had seen earlier. Batman's descent had slowed down dramatically as he turned his body ever-so slight, gliding in a full circle around the rocks, and headed for Cliffside. He released his cape and dropped steadily onto a small cave opening in the rock face that the others hadn't noticed; Sora and his friends released the collective breaths that they didn't realize they were holding.

The Dark Knight disappeared into the cave when Team Sora finally decided to chase after him. Sun and Velvet, using their natural Faunus agility and flexibility, hopped down the side of the cliff while Sora opted for the safer route by clinging to Penny while the android used her blade and strings as a grappling line. When all four members had safely made it to the cave opening, they found Batman staring at a dead-end while fiddling with something on his gloves.

"A little warning next time you decide to go batsh – before you decide to go crazy like that," said Sun, keeping in mind that there was a young, impressionable boy with them.

"If you want to survive Arkham, you need a little crazy," said Batman simply. Sora couldn't tell if he was serious or joking – Batman didn't look like the type to make jokes. "Computer, scan and open."

Sora looked around trying to see who he was talking to when a horizontal beam of light suddenly sprang out from the rocks, gliding downwards over the Dark Knight's body from his pointed ears to the tips of his boots. The light flickered off, a computerized voice sounded ( **"Identity confirmed. Disabling countermeasures. Security deactivated."** ), and the rock wall sprang back before sliding into the ground out of sight. Batman casually walked inside like magical rock doors opening were a common occurrence. Sora and the others followed him through a narrow corridor as the door automatically closed beneath them, walking through a handmade metal bridge that went through and underground waterfall and opened up to a very dark, cavernous space.

"On," said Batman sharply.

Hidden floodlights lining the ceiling clicked on, nearly blinding Sora and his friends due to the sudden brightness, and illuminated the Batcave. It wasn't as big or "tricked out" as Sun would call it like they thought it would be, but that was probably because this wasn't his main base of operations. It mostly just consisted of a few hanging steel platforms suspended over an abyss, a long terminal of computers on one of the platforms, a few crates and a workbench filled with gadgets and other things, and what looked like an experimental jet plane hanging from the ceiling with a tarp lazily thrown over it. Team Sora was in awe – Sun hopped along the wall for a better look at the plane, Penny found herself hovering over the work bench, and Velvet was not so subtle peeking inside the crates.

"Now this is what I'm talking about," said Sun approving as he hopped on the nose of the plane. "Sooo shiny…."

"Don't touch anything," Batman warned them as he walked to the computer with Sora in tow. "Not unless you have fifty million dollars' worth of military funding to replace it."

Sun instantly hopped off.

Batman took a seat at the computer, typing away at a bunch of files and numbers that Sora couldn't make head or tails of while the spiky-haired scythe wielder looked around. Penny was fiddling around with some of Batman's gadgets over at the workbench, unconsciously muttering loud enough for everyone to hear, and commenting how impressive the technology was despite not having the same advancements as Atlas. Velvet had pulled open some crates and found a load of costumes and gestured Sun to come over for him to model for her (Sun vehemently denied trying on the rainbow suit). Wityh everyone busy doing their own thing, none of them would notice when Sora leaned over Batman's shoulder and asked:

"That old friend you were talking about? It wasn't Yang Xiao-Long, by any chance, was it?"

"She never explicitly said so, but I could tell," answered Batman, keeping his eyes on the monitor. "I heard about what happened to Team RWBY – I know they've been missing for the last ten years, or at least everyone thinks they have. Xiao-Long came looking for my help five years aback looking for the rest of her team, but we didn't make much progress. Honestly, I worry about them."

"It almost sounds like you care about them," said Sora teasingly.

"I do," Batman replied with earnest, making Sora's brows fly up in surprise. "Ten years ago, I was…in a really bad place. Yang and I both were. But everyone – Ruby, Weiss, Blake – they helped us through it all, pulled us both out of the darkness and into the light. They helped me realize that I don't have to fight this battle on my own and I shouldn't be afraid to ask for help, which is exactly why when Xiao-Long asked me to help you, I couldn't turn her down."

"Wow, that's really cool," said Sora admirably. "So what did you do ten years – " Whatever question he was going to ask was lost when the Batcomputer monitors suddenly flicked and buzzed as a static screen clouded the terminal like a gray blizzard. Batman tapped away at the keyboard frantically. "What's going on?"

"Someone's hacking the Batcomputer," said Batman, who gave up on fixing the problem and slammed his fists on the desk. "The security override has been overwritten; I can't bypass the system. They've locked me out."

"Who's 'they'?" asked Sora.

As if someone was waiting to ask, the computer monitors stopped flickering and a new image was presented on the terminal. The screen opened up to a small enclosed room where the white paint was peeling off the paneling, the glass window in the background was cracked, and the cold, metal floor was riddled with dirt, grime, and something that looked suspiciously like blood. In the middle of the room was a lone, balding man wearing a nurse's uniform forced to kneel on the hard floor while his wrists were bound behind his back and his mouth was taped shut. The bound nurse was hanging his head in a defeat manner when a gloved hand suddenly grabbed the camera by the lens and flipped it around to the Joker's maniacally grinning visage.

" _ **Hello, Batman, can you hear me?**_ " the Joker called to the Dark Knight in a sing-song voice. " _ **Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you are! You simply can't resist me….**_ "

"Joker…," said Batman in a low, dangerous tone.

" _ **So, how has your night been, Batsy?**_ " said the Joker playfully. " _ **Taking a lovely stroll around Arkham, no doubt obsessing over little old me – Ooh, I think I'm blushing, but don't tell Harley; she's the jealous type.**_ " He let out a short, but insane giggle. " _ **Anywaaay, looks like you made some new friends, didn't you, Bats?**_ " The monitor briefly shifted to a security image of Team Sora encountering Batman at the visitor's center before flipping back to the clown. " _ **You always did have a think for strays, did you? Maybe you could bring him around for a bit and I could introduce him to Mr. Crowbar if you know what I mean?**_ "

"You sick son of a…," growled Batman, gripping his fists tightly until his knuckles popped.

" _ **Ooh, there are so many things I could say right now, but I know you're incredibly impatient,**_ " said the Joker with a menacing chuckle. " _ **So why don't we skip the witty banter and go straight to the part where I tell you my evil, nefarious plan to destroy Gotham.**_ " He flipped the camera back around facing the bound orderly again as Joker walked in the shot and kneeled next to him, throwing his arm over the man's shoulder and causing him the panic. _**"And here to help me demonstrate is our lovely volunteer, Kevin. Say hello, Kevin.**_ " Of course, Kevin the orderly couldn't say anything because of the tape over his mouth. " _ **Aw, he's just camera shy**_."

"What's he going to do to – ?" asked Sora.

"Hush!" Batman hissed, staring at the screen intensely.

The Joker reached inside his tailcoat and pulled out a customized gun that had been painted with a candy stripe to match his persona. The Clown Prince of Crime took a few paces back from the orderly until he disappeared behind the border of the screen and only the barrel of his weapon was visible. The Joker pulled the trigger and instead of a bullet like they were expecting, a syringe flew out of the barrel and stabbed the orderly in the shoulder, pumping an unknown green chemical in the man's bloodstream. The effects of the unknown chemical were immediate and doubtlessly painful as shown by the orderly's cringing expression and muffled screams.

The orderly dropped to the floor on his back and started convulsive as if he was having a seizure (the Joker could barely be heard laughing in the corner). The man flopped around and kicked his legs in the air for a minute before flipping over on his stomach and – in an unexpected show of strength – snapped the ropes binding his wrists like they were made of string. The orderly pushed himself to his knees when his shoulder suddenly bulged exponentially, tearing his shirt apart, and the rest of his arm grew in similar mass. Thick veins started to appear on his skin as the mutation travelled down the right side of his body and part of his face, making his muscles expand while the rest of his body looked like a shriveled mess. The tape on the orderly's mouth was ripped off as the abomination bellowed a monstrous roar that shook the camera (and the Joker was still laughing on the side).

But when the veins traveled upwards and the upper right portion of his head bulged out, there was an audible crack over the screen and the orderly's eyes disappeared inside his skull. The mutated mess of the orderly flopped on its back, unmoving.

" _ **Well, that was unexpected, wasn't it?**_ " Joker giggled as he traveled back on screen. " _ **Hmm, maybe I should have used a little less red. Oh well! It's only a matter of time before I figure out the right formula and have an army of monsters at my fingertips! Ooh, I just can't wait! It's going to be glorious! Unless you try to stop me, Batman!**_ " He pointed at the camera. Then he whipped out a small triggering device from his pocket and pushed the button. " _ **And to make things a little more interesting, here's a bit of civil unrest I cooked up just for you. Toodles!**_ "

The monitors flickered and returned to their original screens; leaving Sora befuddled and somewhat worried while the Dark Knight's facial expression was as rigid as ever. The scythe wielder turned on Batman and opened his mouth to ask what precisely just happened when they heard a muffled, but nonetheless loud _**boom**_ coming from the ceiling, making everyone turning their heads up. Everyone paused for a moment…and then heard the same sound again, only farther away. Batman grimaced and returned his attention to the Batcomputer as his fingers glided across the keyboard with practiced precision.

The Batcomputer brought up multiple windows with video images displaying various points around Arkham Asylum; Batman had hacked into the Arkham security network. Batman clicked on the window in the upper right corner and brought up the camera feed overlooking the grounds in Arkham North. The rounds was in chao as multiple fires broke out across the front lawn, windows and doors of the guard stations were broken down, and one of the massive guard towers had been tipped over and crushed the front gate, which was probably the noise the heard a moment ago. And flying back and forth across the grounds, shrieking so loudly that the camera lens cracked, were the Shriekers that appeared to be no longer under control. After seeing the Shriekers were the ones responsible for the destruction, Batman pulled up the other windows to confirm his suspicion that this wasn't an isolated incident.

"The Grimm are attacking Arkham Asylum!" shouted Batman.

"I thought you said those things were tamed," said Sora surprisingly.

"The Joker must have hacked into the collar's transmissions and altered the frequencies," said Batman knowingly. "I can't do anything about remotely accessing the broadcast from the Batcave and it's unlikely that the Joker would have central control terminal in the Arkham Mansion alone – he wants to create as much chaos as possible to distract me while he completes his mutagen. The only way we can safely shut restore rder is by stealing controller from Joker."

"But he could be anywhere on the island," said Sora exasperatedly.

"He wasn't trying to hide, Sora," said Batman. But while the Dark Knight wasn't looking, Velvet hissed to get Sora's attention and gestured him to come over. Sora shrugged and went to meet his teammate, leaving Batman talking to himself. "While others would have been distracted by the unpleasant transformation, Joker knows I would have been searching the background attempting to identify his location. That's why he positioned himself so that I would see the Intensive Treatment sign through the window. He wants me to come looking for him. Guess I shouldn't disappoint."

He stood up from his chair and walked over to the workbench where an array of tools and gadgets were sitting that look only recently built. One by one, he started pocketing some of the items: throwing blades shape like bats, a mechanized gun with a grappling claw, an injector-looking device, a handful of smoke bombs, and a handheld computer.

"Joker will have set up guards around the front of the building," said Batman as he finished loading his belt. "We'll have to go through the Batcave's underground network to access the sewer system beneath the Intensive Treatment Center. Joker will be expecting us, so you need to be on your guard, Sora."

"Don't call me Sora!" the spiky-haired boy shouted dramatically.

The Dark Knight turned around slowly as Sora flipped in the middle of the platform. Having discarded his usual attire, Sora stood proudly with his fists on his hips wearing a light-weight, but heavily padded combat armor colored in red, greens, and yellows with a stylized "R" symbol on the left side of his chest. He had donned a pair of padded gauntlets and steel-toed combat boots with a hooded cape made from reinforced fibers for protection and a domino mask over his eyes (which seemed kind of pointless considering he was the only person to have hair that pointy).

"I am Robin, the Boy Wonder!" Sora announced proudly.

Sun dropped in next to him, also dressed differently than how he usually would. He wore an armored black bodysuit that greatly clashed with his brightly-colored hair with a midnight-blue "V"-shaped plating across his chest and a domino-shaped cowl over his eyes.

"And I'm Nightwing, the devilishly handsome acrobat with amazing abs!" declared Sun.

Velvet was the next one to jump into view on the opposite side of Sora, unsurprisingly wearing her own superhero costume. Her uniform was much more traditional and lacked the heavy reinforcements like Sora and Sun, but it worked out for the best because the weight would only hinder her movements. She wore red chest armor and black spandex pants that hugged her hips (not that Sora was staring or anything) with a bird emblem strapped in middle. Her face was almost completely covered by the black cowl that stretched into a flowing black cape, but Velvet had cut out some holes to give her ears some breathing room.

"I am Red Robin, the level-headed and technically brilliant crime fighter!" said Velvet.

And the last one to join them was Penny, who marched menacingly to Velvet' opposite side instead of swooping in like the others. Unlike the others, Penny's costume was heavily militarized complimented by combat fatigues and a bulky white-armored battle suit with a red bat emblem on the chest underneath a padded jacket. Decked out in steel-knuckled gloves and heavy combat boots, she had also strapped two of her swords in Gun Mode to her thighs and no doubt kept the rest underneath her coat. He face was completely concealed by a red armored helmet underneath her red hood.

"And I am the Red Hood, the gun trotting vigilante that takes no prisoners," Penny spoke in a menacing tone.

Together, the costumed members of Team Sora struck poses….Batman stared at the for a long minute…then pulled out a recording device from his utility belt.

"Note to self: clean out the Batcave," said Batman.

* * *

Batman led them through the complicated cave system underneath the island before they reached the concealed entryway into Arkham Asylum's underground sewers. They had cross a constant flow of sewage and a labyrinth of half-built constructs all while keeping an eye out few sewer crocodiles (which Batman admitted was actually one of the Arkham purposely kept away from the other prisoners for obvious reasons). Once they crossed over the reinforced, vaulted door into the actually Intensive Treatment Center itself, Batman ripped open a grate on the wall with his bare hands (which was super awesome) and together the team climbed the complicated maze of ventilation shafts to the top floor.

"This is so cool," said Sora as they turned left into another shaft. "I feel like a ninja."

"Oh, believe me, I've met real ninjas before," said Sun, practically bragging. "There was one time on Menagerie – "

"The whole point of sneaking in is to make sure no one hears us," said Batman. He didn't snap at them, but his point came across clear enough that Sora and Sun shut their mouths. "Joker was broadcasting from the lobby up ahead. It's highly unlikely that he would still be there and the Joker knows I wouldn't come unless I had a reason to, so there's a possibility that he would have set up some kind of incentive to draw me out."

"Like taking hostages," said Velvet.

"Exactly," agreed Batman.

They continued to move silently through the ventilation system until they came up to a row of floor grates above their heads shining a very weak light through. Batman held up his fist, gesturing them to stop, while he took a brief moment to look through the bars. Once he had determined that the coast was clear, the Dark Knight slowly and silently lifted the hatch open and hopped out. Sora and the others quickly followed in Batman's footsteps as the Dark Knight slowly set the grate back in its proper place without making any noise. He cautiously chose to stay low in a crouched stance as he approached the edge of the wall they were hiding behind and peered around the corner; Sora's team followed in the hero's example.

The Intensive Treatment lobby was an architectural monstrosity of metal and stone without any real reason behind its design. There were at least three levels and all of them were separated by rusted ladders and crooked staircases, several crates opened paths on the third and second floors, gargoyles were strewn about the walls for some reason, and a bunch of machines that looked like they haven't been used for a long time. In the middle of the lobby was a tunnel system with electronic equipment and a small working space situated above connected by metal bridges to the rest of the room. And after another quick look around the lobby, they could easily make out the Shriekers roaming the area, acting much calmer than the monsters tearing the Asylum apart outside.

Batman touched the side of his cowl and the lenses of his eyes flickered bright white.

"There are six hostages behind held up there," said Batman, gesturing his head to the work space above the tunnel. "Eight Grimm – six roaming, two guarding the hostages. We can afford to risk confronting them head-on without putting the hostages in danger. We'll need to take them out silently one-by-one."

"Shouldn't be too hard," said Sun confidently.

"The Shriekers have a heightened sense of hear and can communicate by screeching," said Batman seriously. "If they make even the smallest sound, it will alert the rest of the Grimm and then we'll be putting the hostages in danger. You need to take them out before they hear anything – that means no guns," he said with particular emphasis.

Sora nodded quickly; he got the feeling that Batman didn't like guns very much, not that he blamed him or anything.

Once the others understood, Batman whipped out his grapnel gun, shot towards one of the nearest overhanging gargoyles, and zipped to the ceiling without any of the Shriekers noticing, though their ears did twitch as the retracting line. Penny ducked back underneath the grates again and took an alternate path to the opposite end of the room near the tunnel as a pair of Grimm made their routes. Sun climbed along the pipes and railings, pulling himself up to the third floor, pausing for a moment to let the roaming Grimm pass by, then silently leaped over to crouch behind it. Velvet waited until the Grimm weren't looking before she dashed to the other side, kicking off the wall, and bouncing up to the second level as she crouched behind the generators near the closest Grimm, forging a hard-light mace from her box. And Sora used his semblance to zip from hiding place to hiding place and only stopping at moments when the Shriekers started looking suspicious until he reached the back of the room near the vaulted doors as a lonesome Shrieker starting coming around the corner.

Team Sora was scattered across the room while Batman loomed overhead, surveying the scene. He pulled out his grapnel gun and lined it up with the Shrieker on the balcony, holding up three fingers…then two…then one….Batman shot his grapnel line, snatching the bat-like monster by the face, and pulled it up to the gargoyle with him. The Dark Knight effortlessly lifted the Grimm to eye level with only one hand wrapped around the monster's throat; the Shrieker could say anything other than a few choked gasps. The Dark Knight's gripped only tightened harder and harder until the Shrieker's eyes rolled into the back of its head – he tied the grapnel line around the monster's leg and dropped it to leave the Grim dangling.

With his job done, Batman checked out how the others were progressing.

When the Shrieker walked around the corner, Sora grabbed the Grimm by its shoulder, threw it down to the ground, and jammed Colorful Indigo's barrel into the monster's mouth before it could utter a screech. The noise of the gunshot was thankfully muffled when Sora shot an ice bullet down the beast's throat, turning the Grimm into a living sculpture. Penny jumped out of the grates and tossed her wired blades at the pair of Shriekers walking into the tunnel, threading loops around the Shriekers' necks until the wires went taut. A sharp tug at the strings and Penny decapitated both Grimm in one shot before ducking back underneath the grates. Sun crouched behind his target along the walkway until he shot up and pressed his staff against the Grimm's neck. The Shrieker was about to let loose a shrill cry for help when the Monkey Faunus pulled its head sharply to the right, snapping its neck with a resound ding _**crack.**_ And Velvet snuck up behind her target and slammed her hard-light mace over the Grimm's head before it had noticed anything, instantly crushing its skull under the impact – not the most tactile performance, but it worked in its own way.

Sora climbed up the ladder to meet Sun as they crossed the sky bridge to the middle office while Penny and Velvet joined up from the opposite side. While the monkey Faunus went inside, Sora stopped at the doorway for a moment, tilted his head back, and looked up to the gargoyle with the hanging Grimm. Batman was nowhere to be found.

"It's awesome and creepy how he does that," said Sora.

"Shut up, you idiot," hissed Sun slapped a hand over the boy's mouth. "The Grimm have ultra-sensitive ears, remember?" Sora said something, but it was muffled by Sun's hand, so the monkey Faunus let him go. "What'd ya say?"

"I said, they probably heard you too, you know," Sora retorted testily.

Sun opened his mouth (likely to snap back that Sora started it) when they heard a sharp and surprised squeak coming around the corner. They flipped around, spotted the Shrieker that had gone to investigate the noise, and immediately reached for their weapons. Before they had the chance to make the grab, however, the Shrieker tilted its head back…then lurched forward with an unholy scream of unimaginable terror (kinda like those memes about Pyrrha that Sun watches with some odd fascination). Sora and Sun's dropped to their knees as their hands immediately flew to their head in a fruitless attempt to block out the noise; the glass windows around them shattered like crystal rain. Sora's vision was becoming disoriented by the screams and Sun dropped to his elbows looking like he was about to throw up at any moment. Sora, very slow and fumbling, made another attempt for his scythe –

And then Velvet came out of nowhere, a hard light naginata in hand, and ran the framed blade through the Shrieker's back. The screaming stopped – Sora and Sun fell forward with sighs of relief. Velvet pulled her had light weapon from the Shrieker with unnecessary roughness, forcing the bat-like Grimm to bend on its knees, then spun around with her weapon to slice its head clean from its shoulders. Velvet quickly ran over to help Sora and Sun back to their feet (though she wisely kept Sun at a distance when he looked green in the face).

"Thanks for the save," said Sora gratefully.

Before Velvet could say anything in response, a pair of gunshots rang out followed by a high-pitched wail and then Penny was sent flying through the back windows over the railing to the bottom level.

"Hostages!" yelped Velvet with urgency.

The group of Sora, Sun, and Velvet scrambled around the corner and were immediately blasted by a force of physical sound waves that threw them back. Their ears were ringing and their vision was partially doubled as they sat up and tried to focus on the Shrieker across the room. The bat-like Grimm was crawling on its appendages back and forth between them and the hostages – the hostages themselves were bound by their arms and legs and had burlap sacks tied over their heads, explaining why none of them were trying to slip away during the fight. As the (kind of) Caped Crusaders wobbly attempted to stand up again, the Shrieker reeled its head back for another sonic blast when -

 _ **CRASH!**_

The window ceiling above the Shrieker's head was smashed inward as Batman descended from above like an angel of death, stamping his feet on the Grimm's shoulder to force it down and finish it off with a solid punch to the face to knock it out. Sora would have personally sliced the Shrieker's head off, but the Dark Knight seemed to appeal to this no killing rule, even towards Grimm.

"Okay, just saying, that was awesome," said Sora, still stumbling around a bit, but caught himself. "You have got to show me your ninja moves."

"I think you do fine with what you do," said Batman. He turned to the hostages tapping his cowl as his eyes flicker again. "It doesn't look like any of them are harmed beyond a few minor laceration s and some bruising. I don't see any trip wires or radio receivers or anything that looks like Joker's usual traps….Something isn't right about this."

"You mean the fact that – oof!" Penny grunted as she climbed back over the railing. "We saved a bunch of people from a pack of mind-controlled Grimm. I don't know how things work in this world, but I would call that a successfully mission."

"It's way too easy," said Batman vehemently, skulking the premises for something that looked remotely suspicious. "Joker wouldn't lure me – wouldn't lure US – here unless he had some kind of trap."

"Wasn't that what the Grimm were for?" asked Velvet.

"Joker knows that wouldn't have been enough to stop us," said Batman. "No, it has to be something else."

"Well, while you do that, we'll just untie the hostages," said Sora. He approached the closest one; a shirtless patient who looked skinny and pale as death. "Hey, you hear me, guy? We're gonna get you outta here."

But as he moved to help the captive, Batman looked over the hostages and noticed something amiss with the one closest to Sora: unknown chemicals strapped to his right hand.

"Robin, get away from him!" cried Batman urgently.

Before Sora even had time to question him, the seemingly helpless "hostage" suddenly strange out of his bonds and jabbed the fingers of his right hand into the exposed skin of his right bicep. Each of the "captive's" fingers were medical syringes pumping a bright-yellow chemical directly into Sora's vein. The scythe wielder threw the man off him, but the damage was already done. Sora held his head as throbbing pain leaked into his brain like someone was holding his skull in a vice. He could hear distant, ethereal screams of people – people he knew – crying out in fear and agony. The pain in his head because dizzy and nauseating; the spiky-haired boy dropped to his hands and knees and made a retching sound feeling like he could vomit any second.

And then…it just stopped. The pain and nausea had passed, but he could still hear the pained wailing somewhere off in the distance. Sora shook his head to clear whatever cobwebs were left in his brain as he gently lifted himself up…. Then he had to pause for a minute, blinking almost cartoonishly when he looked around.

He wasn't in Arkham Asylum anymore…or at least he didn't think he was…maybe…? In truth, it looked like someone had ripped out pieces of the asylum and left them scattered like floating islands underneath an underneath a swirling gray storm as arcs of lightning shot across the twisting clouds. Sora's island definitely used to be part of the Intensive Treatment lobby, but as if someone had taken a rusty knife and haphazardly cut down the middle. The metal beams and glass windows were twisted into unrecognizable shapes that bending every which way, the scanning tunnel was buried halfway in the floor and bended like a periscope, and chunks of steel and stone were falling freely through the air, current by the current of the unnatural storm.

Sora stepped closer to the island edge and looked down into the swirling vortex below – it reminded him of an inverted version of his last moments of Destiny Island, right before he fought the giant bird –

The ground rumbled all of a sudden, causing Sora to stumble and fall on his back. As he started to pick himself up, a hand rose from the abyss; its fingers replaced by medical syringes and filled with a strange yellow chemical just like the person that attacked him. Following the arm came the rest of the body and Sora had to tilt his head back as far as his neck could bend just to stare up at his face.

The man (or monster) was shirtless, so Sora could tell that his was deathly thin with unhealthy pale skin underneath the stitched, burlap cloak. Each inch of his clothing appeared to have been unsystematically stitched together with various amounts of rags, his bare feet and left hand covered by dirty bandages, and ghoulish mask outfitted with a pair of respirators like a gas mask with a noose around his neck for aesthetic. The brace on his right arm was choking with tubes and containers all pumping the unknown yellow chemical inside his finger-syringes. As the masked giant leaned forward to gaze down at him, his eyes flashed bright yellow beams of light on Sora light floodlights, making him temporarily wince at the brightness.

"Aw, poor little bird!" said the mask menace mockingly (though he did acknowledge Sora as Robin, so that was a plus. "You're in my world now. You have entered the domain of…the Scarecrow!"

"Scarecrow, huh?" said Sora, sound amused rather than frightened. "Is Toto, Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion here too?"

"Such bravado," hissed Scarecrow. "Well, that won't last long. You are trapped in my world with your deepest darkest nightmares come to life. You will overwhelmed by true terror and then I will have the pleasure of tearing your mind apart piece by little piece – at my leisure, of course. I mean, look around you." He gestured to the broken segments of Arkham floating around. "These are the broken fragments of your mind. You are already damaged.

"I'm not gonna deny that," said Sora, hands on his hips, but still nonchalant about it. "I'm fourteen and I almost die on a regular basis. You have to be a little broken to deal with all this."

"Does this amuse you?" scoffed Scarecrow, possibly annoyed that Sora wasn't at least whimpering by now. "Are you not frightened?"

"By a loud-mouth in a goofy Halloween costumed?" said Sora jokingly. "Not at all. Compared to Silent Hill, this place is actually kinda pleasant."

"You think so, do you?" growled Scarecrow in annoyance. "Tell me, what demons do you have left to beat? Shall we see?"

The Scarecrow lifted his needlepointed hand and stabbed the ground in front of Sora with his syringes, pumping the yellow chemical into the metal-dirt mixture. When he pulled his hand away, the yellow chemicals started to sprout from the ground like plants, first just shapeless lumps of flesh before swiftly molded into form. Sora's eyes narrowed sharply at the four figures the Scarecrow had conjured – for people from Sora's past. The Wretched Egg – Shiro homicidal alter ego that had been the first to instill fear into Sora's heart. Zeref – the enigmatic mastermind that had uprooted Sora's life and threw it into chaos. Riku – his best friend that has recently brought him to question their relationship. And Ruby Rose – or at least the person who claimed to be Ruby Rose, but Sora knew better.

Scarecrow had summoned the four people that had the greatest impacts in Sora' life.

The boy in the Robin costume kept his hand on his scythe, but he didn't pull it out yet as the four apparitions of his deepest psychosis steadily marched up to him while Scarecrow's glee-filled cackle echoed into the storm, reverberating against his mind.

"Are you scared, little bird?" said Scarecrow wickedly, leaning forward with a stitched grin across his mask. "Oh, I won't rush things this time. I'm going to savor every moment of your terror as I slowly destroy you."

Zeref, Riku, and Ruby Rose all stopped short while Shiro continued to approach him, the familiar hexagonal plates of blood swirling around her arms like scarlet snakes, creeping across the air as they touched Sora's shoulders and started to slither down his chest to the rest of him. Sora didn't move – or perhaps it was because he couldn't move. Even though it had been many months since he had last seen the Deadman, Sora could still vividly remember the day he confronted the Wretched Egg in its natural state. He could remember the monster lurking inside a sweet girl as it ripped apart the prison by its strength alone – he could remember each and every scream of fear and agony as the Wretched Egg's Branch of Sin ripped them apart despite Penny and Sun's best effort to protect him. He could still smell the blood that was spilled; never forget the haunting cackles of the demon as Ganta fought back. The Wretched Egg had been Sora's first true encounter with danger – she had been his first nightmare.

But not anymore.

When the Wretched Egg had least expected it, Sora slipped through the Branch of Sin, rushed forward to catch her off-guard, and then raised his fist her chin for a powerful uppercut that actually echoed upon impact. The Wretched Egg was a lot heavier than Sora remember – he only got her a few feet off the ground – but he quickly retracted his Colorful Indigo and started wailing on the Deadman while she still hovered in the air. He started with two diagonal swipes, then a smack from the top of the head, a few jabs to the chest, and rounded off with another uppercut that flipped the Wretched Egg back. He turned Colorful Indigo's muzzle at the Deadman's exposed backside, making sure the gravity rounds were loaded, and unloaded a shell on her. The recoil knocked Sora flat on his butt, but it also sent the Wretched Egg flying over the Scarecrow's sho8ulder deep into the raging storm.

The Scarecrow and his apparition looked momentarily stunned by Sora's actions, but the self-proclaimed master of fear only chuckled and turned his floodlight gaze back on Sora.

"You're fighting back," said Scarecrow with a sinister chuckle. "Good. It can only weaken your resolve."

"You think you can scare me with my past, well, you're wrong," said Sora determinedly. "Yeah, I used to be scared off these guys, back when I barely understood anything. I was just some kid that had gotten thrown into the deep end of the pool, but I've changed a lot since then. I've gotten stronger, both physically and mentally. I'm not gonna let my fears keep me from doing what I have to. And that includes going up against a Halloween Town reject like you."

"Take a look around you," said Scarecrow authoritatively. "Everything you see is under my control! Are you scared? Embrace it!

"Buddy, I'm scared of a lot of things," Sora admitted jokingly. "But you are not one of them."

"We'll see about that!" hissed Scarecrow.

The Scarecrow pointed with one of his needle fingers, commanding Zeref and Riku to attack while Ruby Rose remained in place. Sora flipped Colorful Indigo around his back, holding the bar in the joints of his arm, and performed a rapid series of rotations in a blue of red and blues. Riku pressed his heels to the ground in an attempt to stop himself, but ended up sliding smack into Sora's spongy scythe blade and was repelled into the corner of the area with a _**crash**_. Zeref had been smarter – he leapt out of the scythe's range and descended on top of Sora with a sharp kick, but Sora pivoted and threw out his own foot to meet Zeref's; the impact of the collision sending each other sliding in opposite directions.

As Sora flipped Colorful Indigo properly around into his hands, Zeref closed his right hand in the air to his side and fabricated a massive, bulky sword from dark matter (Sora didn't know Zeref could do something like that, but then again, he doesn't know a lot about Zeref). The Black Wizard gripped the massive sword with two hands and rushed across the room at an arc, unaffected by the weight of his weapon. On his approach, Zeref leapt towards Sora, spinning his sword around once, before bringing it down to connect with Colorful Indigo's shaft. Sora's legs nearly buckled under the pressure, but the spiky-haired warrior braced himself and pushed all his weight against his scythe. He and Zeref were almost evenly matched in strength, but the angle was putting a lot of stress on Sora's legs and they were bound to give out eventually. With that in mind, Sora reached flor the trigger and fired off one of the gravity rounds, simultaneously thrusting him sideways while the backdraft pushed Zeref into the corner.

As he rocketed across the area, Sora noticed too late that he was flying straight towards Riku, who had gotten his hands on a pole made of dark matter (since when did Riku ever use a tool to fight?) His former best friend clotheslined across the chest, causing Sora to flip in the air and land flat on his stomach. The Boy Wonder flips around on his back with a painful groan, but quickly rolls out of the way when Riku slams the pole in the ground where his head had been a second ago. Sora climbs back up to his feet, stumbling over himself a little, and holds Colorful Indigo out as a threat (as much as a sponge on a stick could be) to his old friend when he heard a clatter coming from the side. The Wretched Egg had found her way back, smiling with the same sense of lunacy as Sora remembered. Sora heard more rushed footsteps around him and suddenly realized that his enemies were blocking him off at each direction – they had him surrounded.

"How much more do you think you can take?" said Scarecrow with an echoing cackle. "Does it scare you to know that I have almost defeated you?"

"Ask me that again after I kick your butt," said Sora confidently.

As the villains slowly started to encroach upon him, Sora suddenly plants the muzzle of his scythe into the floor while raising one foot on the spongy blade and his hand on the trigger. The apparitions immediately sense what he is trying to do and rush him, but Sora's hand already pulls the trigger. The gravity round propels Sora into the air, smashing him through a glass ceiling he didn't realize was there, and blasts a hole in the floor, sending Zeref, Riku, and Wretched Egg falling into the abyss. Unfortunately, Ruby Rose was much quicker on the uptake and practically soared to safety with a whip of her cape.

Ora flipped his scythe around in midair, taking out the gravity magazine to replace it with fire Dust, and starts unloading a barrage of fireballs on the experienced Huntress. Ruby Rose ducks underneath her cloak as the fires seem to brush off the brush of the torn fabric like raindrops on an umbrella. For a brief moment, there was a flash of blinding lightning and Sora thought that Ruby's crimson cape was black for a quick second, but it passed. He didn't notice that Scarecrow slightly panicked.

Sora tucked and rolled when he hit the ground as Ruby flapped open her cape and threw something across the air at Sora's head. He didn't have a chance to see what they were because he deflected the attack with Colorful Indigo's spongy blade and bounced them off into the abyss. With no time to recover, Ruby Rose jumped across the hole with her hands reaching out for Sora and her cape fluttering in the wind behind her. The redheaded Huntress grabbed Sora by the shoulders and pushed him to the floor (another flash of lightning passed and Sora briefly through Ruby had unusually long ears). The experienced huntress used Sora as a springboard to flip over and land on her feet behind Sora while leaving the boy on the ground.

The Grimm Reaper turned around with a flick of her cloak and stood over the boy until she realized too late that he was pointing Colorful Indigo's barrel squarely at her chest. Sora pulled the trigger and a fireball nailed her at pointblank range, sending her flying backwards through a stone wall (a flash of lightning made the wall look like a window for a moment). Sora quickly scrambled to his feet and faced Ruby, who was acting a little more cautious as she stood back up.

And at the same time, Scarecrow looked like he was afraid himself, ironically enough.

"How are you doing this?" yelled Scarecrow; the flashes of lightning were becoming more frequent, distorting his giant image. "You've ingested enough toxic to drive ten men insane! What…are you?"

"Doesn't the costume tell you enough," said Sora dramatically while striking a heroic pose. "I'm Robin – the Boy Wonder!"

With a loud battle cry, Sora rushes forward at Ruby Rose while Scarecrow creams in the background; his grip on Sora's reality starting to break. The spiky-haired boy swung at Ruby Rose from above –

* * *

\- and Batman caught the scythe by its neck, stopping the spongy blade just a few inches short of his face.

"Wha? Batman?" said Sora dumbfoundedly, blinking owlishly at the Dark Knight. "What happened to – ?"

"Get ' em!"

Out of nowhere, Sun, Penny, and Velvet all dogpile on Sora while Batman just looked down at them with an exasperated look in his eyes. Sora scrapped his fingers against the ground as he pulled his upper body out from underneath Penny's weight form and leered at his teammates (especially Sun, whose fingers were roping his face).

"What's the big idea?" questioned Sora.

"Hold him down before starts crazy again!" said Velvet warningly. "Someone take his scythe away!"

"That won't be necessary," said Batman. The Dark Knight touched the side of his cowl, activating his Detective Mode, and did a full body scan of Sora. "The fear Toxin in Robin's bloodstream has been burned out. Either the dosage Crane used isn't as strong as it normally is, which I highly doubt, or Robin forced the toxin out through force of will. Hmm, not bad. Not a lot of people can withstand the Scarecrow's fear toxin and keep their sanity intact."

"Wish I could say the same about my body. GET OFF!" Sora pushed up with a huge grunt of effort and tossed his teammates off. He brushed himself off as he stood and looked around, noting that the hostages were missing. "Scarecrow did something to me that messed with my head. What happened while I was out of it? And Where's Scarecrow."

"Batman caught Scarecrow while you were having your episode," explained Sun. "But then you started spazzing out and mumbling something back being cracked in the head and Halloween Town rejected. You called Penny Wretched Egg and shot her out the window. Then you started picking a fight with me and Velvet – you knocked Velvet on her butt with the Gravity Dust you had and flew at me, but I knocked you down with my weapon. We had you surrounded for a minute, but then you blew a hole in the floor and all of us except Batman fell through."

"So…the whole time I thought I was fighting Zeref and Riku…it was actually you guys?" Sora surmised amazingly; Penny nodded in confirmation. "Wow, that fear toxin is a serious trip. I'm glad that's over with."

"So you thought I was Wretched Egg and Velvet and Sun were Zeref and Riku," repeated Penny with interest. "So then who did you think Batman was?"

Sora opened his mouth dimly, but no words would leave his lips. He couldn't very well tell them that Batman's nightmare counterpart was Ruby Rose (or at least someone that was impersonating her). For one, it was hard enough to prove that he had ever met Ruby Rose, let alone meet her in person, and secondly, Yang's warning about there being a traitor on his meet was still fresh on his mind. Yes, by this point, Sora conceded that there was a possibility for a traitor among them, but had yet to figure out which one of them it was. If anyone of them was secretly reporting to Zeref or this fake Ruby Rose, he couldn't run the risk of any of them knowing what he found out over the course of their journey. So he decided to fall back on his best laid strategy: change the subject.

"Hey, what happened to Scarecrow?" asked Sora, pointedly looking around while avoid their eyes. "Didn't you say you caught him?"

"We did, but he escaped while you were affected by the fear toxin," said Velvet, her ears drooping sadly. "We were too busy trying to calm you down that we hadn't noticed he escaped. Sorry…."

"It's not your fault," said Sun kindly, linking his hands behind his head. "But it really sucks. Scarecrow was probably our best lead at finding Joker. Now we'll never know where they're hiding?"

"Not necessarily," said Batman, thankfully drawing all attention to him. The Dark Knight walked over where the captives once were and pressed the side of his cowl, activating the Detective Mode again. His fingers brushed the floor, shifting through something that was unseen by the naked eye. "Scanners are picking up trace amounts of chlorophyll; I assume it was either coming off Scarecrow or the Joker's clothing. Hmm…the chemical makeup is vastly altered from any plant species I've ever seen. It looks like it's been mutated."

"Maybe it's part of whatever formula Joker used for his experiment," Penny suggested.

"If that's true, then we need to find out what plant made this chemical and figure out if there is a cure," said Batman, straightening up with a grimace. "And there's only one person on Arkham Island that can tell us."

"You have a friend that can help us?" Sora asked hopefully.

"Not exactly," said Batman.

* * *

Meanwhile, deep in the sewer system underneath the Intensive Treatment Center, Joker was grunting with effort as he pushed his lasted failure to the edge of the tunnel just over the flow of rushing water. His latest test subject had been doing much better than the last one – he had fully developed in muscular mass on every part of his body, but his spinal cord had been too weak to support him and subsequently snapped, killing him instantly. Looks like he needed to figure out how to fortify bone density along with physical mass. Oh well, you live, you learn Joker thought to himself as he kicked the mutated corpse off the edge, sinking into the water like a great stone.

"Whelp, back to the drawing board!" said Joker cheerfully, clapping his hand. "I really should be looking for better test subjects. Sure wish Baney boy was still around; now there was a good Guinea pig. Hmm, I could always go see Calendar Man – he's got nothing on his schedule." Just then, he heard the sewer entrance creak open and turned around as Scarecrow came rushing in. "Oh my, Dr. Crane, how lovely to see you so soon. I thought your schedule was busy with appointments this afternoon."

"Those people the bat is with," said Scarecrow, breathing heavily. "There's something wrong with them. I had laced the center with fear beforehand like you said, but none of them were affected. I had to resort to a direct injection, but that boy in the Robin costume resisted my strongest dose. There's something not natural about them.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," said Joker, clicking his tongue disapprovingly, walking past the master of fear. "I'm not liking what I'm hearing, Dr. Crane. You were supposed to keep them busy for hours until the party was ready. Now I have to get everything set up ahead of schedule, and you know how I hate to rush things! You've disappointed me, Scarecrow. And you wouldn't like me when I'm disappointed."

"We still have plenty of time to finish the formula," said Scarecrow. "All we need is a few more chemicals from the medical center – "

"Oh, there isn't a 'we' anymore, Crane," said Joker, spinning around and smiling dangerously at him.

"What?" hissed Scarecrow suspiciously, taking a step away from the clown and closer to the water's edge.

"You see, Scarecrow, I don't really need you to finish the formula," said Joker placidly. "It'll take a little trial and error, sure, but I have everything figured out well enough. Your services are no longer required, Dr. Crane."

"Are you threatening me?" howled Scarecrow, holding out his needle fingers defensively. "After everything I've done, you think you can get rid of me! I'm not afraid of you, Joker!"

"No? Then what about crocodiles?" asked Joker with a sinister chuckle.

The self-proclaimed master of fear didn't realize that there had been something moving in the water behind until he heard bubbles of air breaching the surface. Scarecrow learned too late what was waiting for him when a massive, muscular humanoid covered in scared erupted out of the water, his roar echoing through the tunnel. The reptilian monster snatched up Scarecrow by his right arm and left leg (the master of fear screaming and pleading to Joker for help) and then they both dived back underneath the water, never to be seen again.

And Joker laughed.

"Tick tock, feed the croc," sand Joker.


End file.
